Heart of IceSoul of Fire
by ElejahMikaelson
Summary: Elijah Mikaelson is back, but he is gone. He isn't the honourable Original that Elena Gilbert knew. Not anymore. And he wants her to join him in the darkness, but she doesn't want to. She can't...
1. Chapter 1

_Fandom/s: The Vampire Diaries_

_Title: Heart of Ice/Soul of Fire_

_Description: Elijah Mikaelson is back, but he is gone. He isn't the honourable Original that Elena Gilbert knew. Not anymore. And he wants her to join him in the darkness, but she doesn't want to. She can't..._

_Pairings: I can only guarantee Elijah/Elena at the moment._

_Main Characters: At this time I am only sure of Elijah Mikaelson, Elena Gilbert._

_Rating: T for language, violence and some sexual situations (may change)_

_Author: ElejahMikaelson._

_Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of the characters in this story, I do however own the plot.  
_When Elena woke up, the back of her head felt like it had been split open, the pain radiated from the left outwards; making her brain sluggish and slow as she tried to figure out what had happened last night and where she was now.

She swallowed thickly and looked around the room she was in; it was pitch black and, from the feel of it, concrete. She tried to stand but felt something pull on her wrists. She cried out at the harsh sting of the vervain burning on her skin and fell back onto the floor.

When her eyesight began to adjust she could just about make out the shape of a doorframe on the wall opposite her. She could now see the shackles around her wrists and the heavy chains attached to them. Smaller chains were placed around her ankles.

She tugged at the shackles by her feet, hissing when they also burned her hands.

"Hey! You can't do this!" She pulled at the chains again as she yelled. "Oi! You can't leave me down here! Who the hell are you?"

She screeched when the door opposite her opened and the lights were turned on. The sudden brightness burnt her sensitive eyes and her hands flew up to shield them from the harsh rays.

"Do be a dear and be quiet Elena, it is way too early for your yelling right now."

Elena knew that voice.

When her eyes adjusted she saw all the proof she needed of who was opposite her.

"Elijah?"

Her voice was a small whisper and she could feel her body tremble as she looked at the eldest Original. Then she remembered.  
_Elena said goodbye to Caroline outside the Grill and headed down the same route she always took to get home. When she reached the alley she felt the presence of someone following her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she quickened her pace. _

_Suddenly she saw someone appear in front of her. She jumped back and let out a small yell, her hand over her heart, before she recognised the man in front of her and smiled at him._

_"Elijah! You scared me!" Suddenly a thought crossed her mind and her brow furrowed. "What are you doing in Mystic Falls? I thought you were with Klaus, in New Orleans?"_

_"I was, yes. Then I decided that a small trip was in order." There was something calculating and predatory in his gaze and she didn't see any of the usual softness that was normally present when he looked at her. _

_"Are you okay Elijah? You seem…different." His smile was almost sinister and lacked the usual kindness that she had loved to see when he was still around. _

_"I **was** wondering if you would notice. My half-brother didn't realise anything was amiss until my hand was already in his chest cavity." Elena was unable to supress the small gasp and she skittered back a step. "Don't worry yourself, lovely Elena, Niklaus's heart will have re-grown by now." _

_Elena's lips parted and she stared at the Original in front of her in pure shock and astonishment. _

_"Don't look so surprised Elena. After all, it was you whom I conspired with to kill my brother." _

_"What do you want from me Elijah? Are you here to kill me too?" Yet again he was only a few inches from her body and he gently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she took a shaky breath. "Come now Elena, Niklaus isn't actually dead. Besides, I've always liked you, why would I kill you?" _

_She chose to ignore his statement and asked her first question again. "**What do you want from me?" **_

_"I'm curious about some things." Elena tilted her head in confusion and her brow furrowed. "That's all? You're just curious?" He hummed in confirmation and continued playing with the lock of hair wrapped around his finger; she realised it was her coloured piece of hair. _

_"Are you afraid of me Elena?" Her eyes searched the Originals face for a second before she slowly shook her head. "No." _

_"Do you trust me Elena?" She searched his eyes for a second longer than she had before and she nodded slowly. "Yes." _

_He smirked at her darkly. "You should be careful who you trust Elena." Her brow furrowed. _

_The last thing she heard was the sickening sound of her neck snapping.  
_"What are you doing Elijah? Why are you doing this to me?" The Original crouched in front of her and fingered the same lock of hair he had before he had broken her neck. "I told you Elena; I'm curious." Her breath was shaking and she could feel her body trembling as he continued to play with her hair.

"What did you do Elijah? Why are you acting like this? What's gotten into you?" Elijah smirked at her and brushed his thumb over her cheek, tilting his head at her. "You should know Elena. You have done the same rather recently if I recall..." Realisation dawned on her and her eyes widened.

"You turned it off…"

Her voice was quiet (a whisper really) and he nodded in confirmation. "I did."

"Why?" He shook his head quickly and shrugged a little. "I thought you were dead Elena. I was stupid enough to let myself fall in love and then I thought you were dead." Elena's mouth fell open at the revelation and she stared at the man in front of her in awe. "But that doesn't matter anymore, does it Elena? Because I don't feel anything anymore, I don't care anymore."

Elena swallowed thickly and shook her head slightly. "I-I didn't-" He put his finger over her lips and nodded. "I know. I didn't want you to know. I had hoped you would be able to live a normal human life, at first. When you turned I had hoped you would at least ask for my help; that you would want my help." He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "How stupid was that? I actually thought you gave a damn about me!"

"I d-" His hand wrapped around her throat and he put some pressure on her windpipe. "Don't lie to me Elena!" He bellowed right in her face and she shrieked, attempting to scuttle away but only hitting the concrete wall behind her.

Elijah smirked at her fear and, with one hand, pulled her legs down from where she had tucked them up against her chest. He straddled her legs; his knees on either side of her hips and grinned at her wolfishly. "Do you still trust me now Elena?" She didn't answer and he tightened his hand around her throat; cutting off the majority of her air supply. She gasped and flailed in his hold. "Answer me when I ask you a question, Elena." His hand loosened enough for her to answer and she took a deep breath.

"It-it's different now. You-you're different. You don't care about anything anymore." He bent his face closer to hers and hissed in her ear. "Answer the question Elena, stop deflecting. If I gave you my word on something, right now, _would you trust me?"_

She shook her head slowly, feeling her eyes beginning to water. "No. I-I wouldn't." He hummed appreciatively and moved back to look at her again. "Now _there_ is the truth."

"Elijah please-"

"Are you afraid of me Elena?" He cut over her plea, ignoring her words. "No." Elijah chuckled and shook his head. "Stop lying to me Elena; you're completely transparent sweetheart; I can see right through you. _Are you afraid of me?"_

"No. I'm not lying to you, I swear!" He tilted his head at her. "Then what are you afraid of? Because you are lying to me right now."

"I'm afraid _for_ you." Elijah smirked at her and twirled the hair on his finger. "Afraid _for_ me?" She nodded vehemently. "Yes! Because I know that, when you turn it back on, you are going to regret everything you've done. Heavens knows I did and you will too! I don't want that for you Elijah."

Elena stared into his eyes imploringly. "I regret everything I did when I had my switch flipped! Everything! I killed people, I hurt you. And I regret every moment of it!" His large hand tightened around her slender throat as he completely cut off her oxygen supply.

"Enough! I will not have you trying to flip my switch for me."

Elijah's voice was a low hiss and Elena flailed in the vampires grip, her small hands came up in an attempt to pry his large, coarse hand from her throat.

He chuckled at her pitiful attempts. "I am _much_ stronger than you Elena. You _cannot_ fight me off."

For the first time ever Elena watched in fascination as the veins under Elijah's eyes darkened and raised and his sharp fangs elongated, she noticed with - some curiosity - that they were longer than hers. He bared them at her (not threateningly, just in a display of his power) and she squirmed in his hold. He was still straddling her hips and the hand around her throat moved and fisted in her hair.

Elijah pulled her head to the side and he bared her neck to his gaze. His fangs grazed the column of her neck and she shuddered against him.

"I just want a taste; you always smell so delectable darling. It's such a tease, you have no idea how many times I have wished I could skin my fangs into you." Elena whimpered and tried to move away, but, even if she could somehow get his hand from her hair, he was still straddling her hips. She couldn't go anywhere if she tried.

"Don't worry yourself my sweet; it won't hurt; in fact you will only learn how _pleasurable_ blood sharing can _really be."_ He purred in her ear before he began suckling on the skin on her neck.

"Elijah, you-you're not yourself. Stop it…please."

"Shhh…" He didn't remove his lips from her neck as he continued to raise her blood to the surface of her skin. "It's okay." She shivered upon feeling his lips move against her neck as he spoke. His tongue flicked out over her skin before his fangs pierced her neck (more gentle than she expected from him, he was acting rather bipolar without his emotions though so maybe she should have expected it) and he began taking slow, leisurely pulls of her blood.

She let out a small whimper at the feeling of his fangs in her throat. His free arm moved to her back and he pulled her body even closer to his. Her chest was pressed as close to his as could be and he could feel every shiver that ran through her body as he continued to feed from her.

His hand drifted to the small of her back and crept under her shirt. Elijah moved his hand to her chest and he cupped her breast through the fabric of her bra. The Original slowly massaged her breast, as he did he released his grasp on her brunette locks and that hand slid down to mimic its brother. He ground his pelvis into hers and revelled in her responding whimper.

The younger vampire could feel her life force waning as Elijah continued to take large gulps of her rich blood. He groaned against her throat – her blood was unlike anything he had ever tasted before; it was how he imagined ambrosia would taste.

The Original could feel Elena's life slipping away from her as he drank her exquisite blood but he didn't care, he would stop before he drained her (maybe). His hands continued to massage her most sensitive spots and her breaths were coming shorter as she lost energy and was pleasured simultaneously. She slumped in his hold as he continued to pleasure her body in ways she'd never imagined _could_ _be_ pleasurable and she reached her peak (how was that even possible? He hadn't even done anything).

She saw her vision gradually go blotchy and she could feel herself slipping away. She murmured his name, so quietly and slurred that it sounded like a wordless mumble. When he had almost drained her dry he pulled his fangs from her throat. He lapped at the small drops of blood (not really existent at all) that leaked from her wounds until her they closed, several minutes later. Her vampiric healing finally kicking in – his fangs had prevented the wounds closing up until that point and her blood loss was the reason it took so long after he was finished. His hands remained over her chest and her head fell forward onto his shoulder – her exhaustion rendering her unable to keep her head up and alert.

"See Elena? It's not all bad is it?"

He murmured into the crook of her pale neck and, almost lovingly, stroked the hair on the top of her head as she rested on his shoulder. "We could be so good together, all you have to do is turn it off Elena. Join me." His voice was low and enticing, pleading for her to turn it off and join him in the darkness.

It took her a moment but she finally managed to gather the strength to reply.

"I…can't…Elijah. I-I…won't…do…that to…myself. Not again…" She heard him growl (felt it rumble in his chest) and she felt him thread his fingers in her hair, then he yanked her head from his shoulder so she was looking at him again. He snarled at her.

"I could compel you, you know?" His vice was harsh and he glared at her. She stared back, eyes half shut.

"But…you won't." He smirked at her. "Quite right; I won't. Because I want you to know that this was your choice. I want you to know that you were not forced to join me. Because you _will_ change your mind."

Elena shook her head as much as was possible with her limited energy. "I will never…join you…on this, Elijah. You have…to understand."

"Oh, I understand all right." He sneered at her. "I'm not good enough for you am I? I'm not one of your precious Salvatore's so I'm not good enough for you. I have come down here and I have tried to get along with you. I could have tied you up down here and bled you dry, a lot more painful than this I assure you, and I could have compelled you to do anything. Hell, I could have killed you the second I saw you last night!" He spoke through clenched teeth and his veins had become prominent again as he grew more agitated with her. His hand tightened in her hair and she let out a sharp gasp in pain.

"You _ungrateful_, little bitch!"

Then he slammed her head into the concrete behind her. She gasped, his face contorted into a snarl, she felt blood soaking the back of her head and then she passed out (again).


	2. Chapter 2

_Bulldozed88: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I have to say I do love dark Elijah. I really wished they had gone into more depth when his character went off the deep end in the Originals, I would love for him to lose his emotions. I am feeling a little better, but this story so far is just really easy to write at the moment, I am having problems with my other story at the moment so if you do have any ideas you think could help, please do let me know!_

_Sharbour0108: I'm glad you liked the chapter and the darker side of Elijah I have written, thank you for reviewing _

_JMHUW: I've got a few different ideas about Elena flipping her switch if I do decide for her to do so, at the moment I've got several different ideas for either path she could take. I hope you like this chapter as well _

_Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm glad you like it so far. As I said above; I'm not sure if she will definitely turn it off yet, I have several ideas for what could happen either way. I'm glad you think so an hope you enjoy this chapter too :D_

_Caitie-AwesomeHippie: Thank you I'm glad you love my writing so much and hope I can keep it up throughout this story. This pairing is by far my favourite and I love writing them together, I have about ten different stories that I've started saved onto my computer because I keep thinking of new ways I could put them together! _

_AN: Thank you to all you reviewers and I hope you and anyone else who finds their way to this story enjoys it. If you're reading this please take a look at my other story: 'The Switch'. It's currently in progress and unfortunately I'm having a little trouble writing the next chapter at the moment. Please give it a read and review to tell me what you think and if you have any ideas of what I could do; I'm always open to ideas that you think could improve my story and to any constructive criticism if you have a way you think I could improve my writing. Thank you!_

_So, on an unrelated note, I have to write a mini saga story on any type of relationship for my English class, which, of course, isn't a problem. The problem is that we have a word limit, 50 words! 50 words to write a story! It's going to take me forever to get it to only 50 an keep it there, wish me luck!_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave me a review, it may well make my day! _

_He spoke through clenched teeth and his veins had become prominent again as he grew more agitated with her. His hand tightened in her hair and she let out a sharp gasp in pain._

"_You __**ungrateful**__, little bitch!"_

_Then he slammed her head into the concrete behind her. She gasped, his face contorted into a snarl, she felt blood soaking the back of her head and then she passed out (again)._

Something was nudging her foot.

When Elena slowly began to come to, she could feel someone nudging her foot, repeatedly. She groaned, annoyed, and kicked her leg out, in an attempt to knock away the irritating pressure on her ankle.

It hit her harder.

_"Get up." _

It was his voice again. Elena groaned and her brow furrowed, she tried to shift away from him but the vicious throbbing in her head forced her to remain still and she let out a small whimper. Sharp pains shot through her head when she moved, even an inch, like a knife was being stabbed into the back of her skull and twisted, over and over again.

"Wake up!"

Elena slowly let her heavy eyelids flutter open (trying to give them a chance to adjust), she winced at the brightness of the overhead light and shied back into the concrete. Elijah was stood in front of the doppelgänger with his muscled arms folded over her chest, he was wearing a black t-shirt and denim pants (pants?!) and the shirt allowed her to see the muscles in his arms ripple as he moved. He'd always worn suits before so she had never seen his bare arms, upon finally seeing them she wondered what else his suits had been hiding. She blushed and diverted her eyes from him, unable to move her head, unfortunately.

The Original crouched in front of her when her eyes were opened fully and he was smirking, like he had read her mind. But, weirdly enough, he didn't comment on it, instead his smile evaporated and he was staring at her with something that could have been called a glare.

"It took you long enough."

"What happened?" Elena let out another small groan. "My head hurts." Elijah shrugged a little and tilted his head at her. "You hit your head, hard. You didn't have enough blood left in you to heal the damage; so…you've been out for about…five hours, give or take a little."

Elena squinted her eyes at him and cleared her throat slightly. "You hit my head, against the wall."

The Original in front of her shrugged again nonchalantly and nodded. "You were being extremely irritating and it was the only way to get you to shut up." Elena frowned at him, glaring. "You didn't ask! Besides, I thought you didn't care about anything anymore, Elijah."

"Indeed I don't. But you know, as well as I do, that irritation is often, unfortunately, very unavoidable." Elena did know, she knew he was right. The Salvatore's had been more than irritating for the majority of her emotionless period with their attempts to return her emotions and gain control over her, again. Elena's brow furrowed and she shook off her anger at the brothers (where had that come from?) she quickly forced herself to return to her thoughts before; and, although she didn't often recall that time, she could remember that it had been the strongest emotion that had managed to seep through the cracks in her emotional wall.

She sighed in resignation and let her eyes close for a second in an attempt to gather her sluggish thoughts before she looked back at the Original.

"What do you want Elijah?" Her voice was worn and tired and she lacked the usual fiery tone she had displayed before-hand. The man in question frowned slightly at his doppelgänger and tilted his head at her curiously; she sounded like she had given up. He wouldn't have that.

"I brought you something." Elena scoffed and shook her head as much as the throbbing would allow. "I don't want any more offers from you Elijah, I really don't care for them." She saw a muscle in his jaw tick and he shook his head slowly, he took a deep breath and held it for a second before releasing it and speaking. "Am I correct to presume that you do not desire this then?" Elijah pulled a blood bag from where he had hidden it between his folded arms and held it up.

Elena felt her face change and she lunged towards the bagged fluid that the Original was holding. The chains pulled back on her wrists and she collapsed back to the cold, hard floor with a hiss and a groan. The man in front of her smirked and bent one knee forward to lean on it, closer to her.

"Does that mean I was correct? You don't want the blood?"

"Of course I bloody well want it! You drained me dry, what d'you expect?" Elijah's tongue flicked out to lick his lips and he shook his head, with that thrice damned little smile on his face (he'd even had it while he had his emotions, but she had often suspected that she was one of the few who ever saw it). "I didn't quite drain you dry sweetie, you did still have a little blood left in you."

Without any further ado Elijah swiftly tore the top of the small straw (which came with the blood bag) off and threw it to the side. Elena growled when the rich, coppery aroma of the human blood hit her nose. The elder vampire leisurely sipped from the blood bag and smiled at the doppelgänger in front of him. Her breaths were coming faster, in small pants, as she felt the blood calling to her and her sharp gaze was transfixed on the blood in the Originals hand.

"Elijah..." She swallowed thickly. "Please, Elijah." He tilted his head and smiled at her. "Yes Elena? Is there something you want?" He took another, larger, gulp of the blood and quirked an eyebrow at her.

Elena swallowed and shook her head slightly, wincing when the movement hurt, she knew what he wanted from her. "I'm not going to beg you for it Elijah. Either let me drink and get my strength back or let my body shut down and desiccate. But do hurry up and make up your mind."

Elijah grinned at her widely, his fiery little doppelgänger was back, and he gradually shifted closer to her as he spoke. "That is _much_ better Elena, a little push more and you'll be there. You'll be fantastic!" She could feel his breath on her face and he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Shut it off Elena... I dare you..."

She stared at him, for a second longer than she probably needed to, before she turned her gaze away from him, and her face away from his large, coarse hand and she heard his irritated sigh by her ear. His hand fell from her face and she heard him take another long pull from the blood bag.

"That's certainly a shameElena. You were _brilliant_ without any of your emotions hindering you. And it would save you quite a lot of time, you wouldn't have to be sat down here in the dark anymore; you would be able join me, in the light, feeding to your heart's content, and more." She felt his hand brush her hair behind her ear and his lips followed in his hands path to her ears.

"You still can Elena."

She turned her head to look back at the vampire to her left. "You are not understanding what I'm saying to you, Elijah. I will not do that to myself again, no matter what you say to me, or what little things you bribe me with. I can't…I can't be that person again Elijah." He smiled (softly, strangely enough) and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger there.

"You will, soon enough my sweet." She could feel his lips move softly against her forehead and his voice was a quiet whisper. She closed her eyes for a second, in an attempt to distance herself from the emotion he was stirring up with his remarkably gentle presence, stood stark in contrast to his vicious, demanding presence when she had seen him before.

"You confound me Elena. You could have everything with me; you could be my queen. You could do anything you want, I would protect you Elena. You could have all of that and yet you shut me down, you refuse my offer of eternity with me; of being free. It truly is dumbfounding." Elijah's lips were still on her forehead and her breaths were slow and deep as she tried to gather her thoughts to respond.

"Because none of that matters to me Elijah. I don't want to be like that, I don't want to be with you. Not if the only way for me for that to happen is if I turn everything off." The Original tilted his head curiously and shook it slowly. "I still don't understand you Elena."

"But enough of that, for now…" He pulled away from her and she managed to open her eyes again, just as he held up the plastic bag in front of her face. "You are right my sweet, you are in serious need of a drink."

Elena's eyes widened and she sat up straight in anticipation of the rich, human blood. Elijah took a sip from the blood bag and knelt beside her, then he kissed her.

His lips quickly parted hers and Elena moaned when she felt the coppery blood wash into her mouth and her eyes slipped closed. Some of the blood trickled from the corners of their mouths and down their chins, she felt some of it drip down, onto the skin of her collarbone. Elijah's hand, that wasn't holding the blood remaining in the plastic bag, moved up and tangled in her long brunette locks. He sighed into her mouth; she truly was exquisite, in every way.

Even with his humanity gone he could appreciate the deliciousness of her blood and the perfection of her lips and her petite, but full, figure. He didn't need his emotions to appreciate the doppelgänger in front of him. Her body, her personality, everything about her, called out to him, begging for him to claim her as his own.

When Elijah pulled away from her mouth his lips trailed down her chin and he lapped up the small amount of blood that had trickled from their mouths when they had shared the bagged blood. When her chin was clean he kissed down to her collarbone and his tongue dipped into the groove between her raised bone and the skin. Her fingers threaded through his cropped hair and she held his face to her chest.

When all traces of the blood had been removed, he kissed his way back up to her chin and carried on upwards until he reached her lips and claimed them in another sloppy kiss, her hands had fallen from his hair when he had moved and hung limply by her sides. Their tongues met and Elena moaned, her hands went to re-encircle his body but the vervain tugged on her bare wrists and she dropped them with a hiss.

The blood sloshed in the bag as he rested it against the wall, his hands reached down and tugged and she felt the chains loosen. Her arms swiftly wrapped around his neck, free of hindrance, and she pulled him closer as her lips trailed down to lap up the blood left on his chin. He tilted his head to give her better access and she groaned in dismay when she had finished off the blood, it hadn't been nearly enough. She could feel it beginning to revitalise her body, her headache was fading and she felt more alert but she still needed more.

The hand that was still tangled in her hair pulled her lips back up to meet his and their tongues tangled in a battle for dominance. Elijah swung one of his legs over both of Elena's and he hovered over her thighs, continuing to kiss her.

Eventually his lips traced down the column of her throat and her head fell back against the wall with a dull thud, her back arched, pressing her cloth-covered breasts against his chest. Elijah's fangs slowly extended and his hand left her dark hair, to hold the back of her neck, as the sharp points of his teeth lightly grazed the pale skin of her throat; that woke her up.

Elena's head shot away from the concrete and she shoved the Original away from her neck. He chuckled lowly and licked his lips, not moving any further away than she pushed him (than he let her push him).

"Get the hell off of me!"

He made a noise, something between a sigh and a groan. "But we were having so much fun just then Elena. Why do you have to spoil such a lovely moment my dear?" His hands brushed her hair behind both ears and played with the tips of her brunette hair, it was going back into its natural state, small, soft curls.

"You know you want me, Elena. I saw it in your eyes when you woke up and I still see it now. I'm here for you, if you can look past your pathetic little idealisms of what you _think_ should be happening between us, then you can have me." His eyes bore into hers, almost like he was compelling her; but he wasn't, and she shook her head furiously.

"This-this is wrong Elijah! It's completely immoral! Surely you cannot be oblivious to that!"

His gaze turned cruel and cold and all of the softness died out from his eyes as he glared at her. "Surely, Elena, you can see, that I don't care?" His voice was deathly quiet, an almost silent whisper, as though he were in graveyard and talking would somehow wake the kindred spirits (after all, that's what Matt, Bonnie, Caroline and her had used to believe). But the overall effect only made him seem that much more menacing.

"Of course I'm not oblivious to your perception on the matter. But, I just don't care about morals anymore, sweetheart, I don't care about what is right and what is wrong. If I want something _I __**will**__ take it_. And I _want_ _you_, Elena." His hands cupped the sides of her face and she trembled in his hold, realising he somehow had gained all of the power, yet again. He was hovering above her thighs and he had every angle he could possibly want to do anything he wanted to in that position.

"Shh…don't you be worrying yourself my precious Elena. I will only take you _when_ you decide to join me." Elena shook her head again, in a furious negative. "No! I won't! Elijah-" Elijah cut her off, placing his index finger over her lips and shaking his head slightly, before lowering his lips to her ear.

"You will. It is only a matter of time my lovely. And I will be here, waiting, for when you do."


	3. Chapter 3

_Aria Daughter of Chaos: I seem to be writing your user a lot lately! Thank you so much for reviewing both of my stories so often. It certainly isn't wrong that you want her to shut it off in this chapter just for some murderous Elejah! I'm glad you really like this story so far and I hope you continue to enjoy my chapters._

_Guest: Thank you so much. It makes me really happy that you think so much of my writing and of this story._

_Sarah (Guest): I'm glad you like my writing and thank you for reviewing. _

_Thank you to all my reviewers and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

/\/\/\/\/\/\

"_If I want something I __**will**__ take it. And I want you, Elena." His hands cupped the sides of her face and she trembled in his hold, realising he somehow had gained all of the power, yet again. He was hovering above her thighs and he had every angle he could possibly want to do anything he wanted to in that position. _

"_Shh…don't you be worrying yourself my precious Elena. I will only take you when you decide to join me." Elena shook her head again, in a furious negative. "No! I won't! Elijah-" Elijah cut her off, placing his index finger over her lips and shaking his head slightly, before lowering his lips to her ear. _

"_You will. It is only a matter of time my lovely. And I will be here, waiting, for when you do."_

Elijah had left a while ago, after he had placed the remaining blood in Elena's right hand and had retightened the chains around both of her wrists. Elena had gulped down the blood until there wasn't a drop left in the plastic before he had even left the room and then she had crumpled the bag, dropping it by her side.

But that had been quite some time ago, a few hours at the least; possibly even a day or more. She was hungry again, all the blood she had consumed before had gone towards healing her broken and bloodied head. Not one drop had satiated her growing hunger; she was starving.

Her head fell back against the cold wall with a dull thud and she could already feel her body begin to slow and shut down in an attempt to conserve the small amount of remaining human blood for energy. After all of that was burned up she would start to desiccate, the blood in her veins would dry up and she would be in excruciating agony.

Elena's rigid muscles slowly loosened and her body melted against the stone behind her. She felt her heavy eyelids droop shut and her breaths gradually evened out, becoming slower and deeper. Her mind froze as she sat completely still; not sleeping yet not fully awake.

She was unaware of how long she sat on the cool, concrete floor, drifting between a state of sleep and of consciousness. She didn't notice the door open, nor did she notice the eldest vampire in the world walk into the room, dragging something behind him.

A gentle hand touched her face lightly and she felt herself lean into his touch unconsciously. There were several low whispers of her name before she managed to pull herself back from the brink of desiccation. She slowly opened her heavy eyelids for a split second before she could no longer hold them open and they fell shut again. She heard his low chuckle, almost a ghost of a laugh, but she didn't really process it until a few moments later.

A wetness was pressed against her lips and she slowly opened her mouth to allow the liquid's entrance. The warm liquid flowed into her parted lips and she swallowed, a small sigh of relief escaping her as she felt her body slowly revitalising the more she drank.

"There we go sweetheart; drink up."

Her hands were placed on the source of the fluid and she gripped on to it tightly. Her fangs slipped free from her aching gums and she anchored them into whatever her hands had been placed on in front of her.

Eventually she realised that the substance was human blood and a small moan escaped her lips as she continued to gulp down the rich, coppery blood, not caring where it was coming from. A hand played with the hair on the back of her head as she continued drinking the revitalising fluid.

She heard a small whimper of pain and went to pull back from, what she then realised was, the arm of a woman. The hand on the back of her head gently held her mouth to the woman's wrist as Elena tried to move away.

"Sh, sh, sh… It's all going to be alright Elena. You're going to be alright. But you still need more, you haven't had enough yet."

Elena let the low soothing voice wash over her and calm her and, knowing the voice was right, let the hand hold her in place and she carried on drinking, too tried to resist and still needing the nourishment. She felt the flow of the rich blood slowing as she drank but she was unable to make herself pull away from the woman.

Eventually the blood ceased to flow at all and Elena felt gentle, but firm, hands pull her mouth away from the woman's wrist. Hands were placed on her cheeks and thumbs ran over the veins under her still closed eyes. She let his gentle touch push her vampire features away as he continued to run the pads of his thumbs under her eyes.

"Elena?" His voice was deceivingly soft and she shook her head, refusing to open her eyes, already knowing what she had done and not wanting to see the proof.

"Look at me Elena."

The soft voice slowly coaxed her eyes open and she looked at the man in front of her. He smiled.

"Why did you make me do that?" He shook his head at her slowly and one of his hands dropped from her cheek. His thumb caught her bottom lip and he swept a drop of blood away, parting her lips slightly as he did.

"I didn't make you do anything Elena, when you attempted to pull away there was more than enough for her to continue living, yet _you_ still needed more. Any point after that and I would have allowed you to stop drinking. It was your choice alone to drain that woman dry my sweetheart."

Elena shook her head slowly, in denial. "No! No. She's fine, she has to be fine!" Elijah shook his head slowly, before inclining it to her left. "Look for yourself darling. Listen for her heartbeat. It's gone, she is gone."

Elena shook her head again. "No. I don't-I don't want to. I don't want to look Elijah." Her eyes were beginning to water and Elijah nodded, smiling with false sympathy. "I know Elena, but you have to."

His hand gently took hold of her chin and he turned her gaze to the woman on the floor. A small, pained sob escaped her when she saw the dead woman. Elijah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and he gently pulled her against his side, as the first tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It's okay my lovely."

Yet again his voice was deceivingly soft and gentle and she felt her body relaxing into his side. She turned her face to the side and burrowed into his chest. Her tears were coming fast and she sobbed into his t-shirt.

"I killed her Elijah. I didn't mean to kill her, I didn't want to." His hands rubbed her back in gentle circular motions and he attempted to sooth her with quiet shushing noises.

"I know," That was all he said before he planted a small, soft kiss on the top of her head and continuing to speak. "And it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

She shoved him away from her and he knelt back in front of her. "How can you say that?" She screamed at him, while tears still streamed down her face, tears of anger were mixed in with her tears of sadness now.

"I killed someone Elijah! How can you possibly sit there and tell me that there is nothing wrong with that?" Elena snapped at the man in front of her and she felt her veins reappearing under her eyes. She watched as his veins also darkened and raised and he glared back at her.

"Because there isn't Elena! There is nothing wrong with killing that woman and you need to understand that. You did once!"

Elijah was yelling at the doppelgänger in front of him and she glared back, moving to kneel so that their eyes were brought level again. The pain around her wrists was almost non-existent, as the human blood had completely revitalised her aching body.

"And that was wrong! _Everything_ is wrong about believing that it's okay to _kill_ innocent people Elijah." His hand wrapped around her throat and he snarled at her. "I believe I have already told you Elena, I do not care for your beliefs of right and wrong. If I want to kill someone I will, and I will not care about it, I do not care."

"But you have to care! I refuse to believe that the Elijah I know is gone!"

"He is!" Elijah's hand tightened reflexively around her throat as he snapped at her.

"That Elijah is gone Elena, and he is _never_ coming back." His veins slowly receded and the Original stared at the doppelgänger in front of him. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but he wasn't sure if they were tears of anger or of sadness. They were both the same to him; one big, messy jumble of emotions hidden behind a large wall, tucked away in the darkest, most desolate corner he could find in the back of his mind.

"How does that make you feel Elena? Knowing that the old Elijah is gone, forever." His hand moved from the base of her throat and gently trailed across her collarbone before coming to rest on her shoulder. His other hand grasped her other shoulder and his eyes bore into hers as he compelled her.

"_What does that make you feel Elena?" _

She could feel his compulsion working on her mind, lowering her resistance and forcing her to answer his question.

"Grief." As quickly as the compulsion had affected her it wore off and her mind was her own again. Elijah's eyes were curious and he tilted his head at her.

"Grief? Why do you feel that Elena?"

She didn't need any compulsion to answer his question that time and she shrugged slightly. "You're a good man, it's sad that you believe that he is gone forever." He quirked an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "He _is_ gone Elena. If that truly upsets you why would you want to feel any of it? You resist my offers Elena, yet there is nothing for you out there." His hands dug into her shoulders and his eyes searched hers. "Your friends have already given up the search for you and you've only been here for three days. They have moved on Elena and you should too."

His words all made sense and Elena felt herself slowly beginning to give into the notion. He _was_ right after all. Of course she was upset that he was gone, that he had locked all of his emotions away, but, if she turned it off, she wouldn't have to be. She could join him and leave all of her friends behind; Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie… Every single one of her so called 'friends'. Her friends who never thought that she could do anything for herself, who never thought that she could make her own decisions. Her friends who never trusted her choices and would never let her do what she thinks is right.

It wouldn't be like that with Elijah. They would work together, not with him calling the shots and her blindly following along unless she wanted to lose his friendship. They would make any and all decisions together and he would trust what she says.

They could be together, just the two of them.

Elijah watched in silence as Elena processed and gradually accepted the notion. When her gaze refocused on him he smiled encouragingly and nodded.

"You know it's the right thing to do Elena." She nodded slowly.

"Will it make the hurt go away?" He nodded again and his hands moved to cup the sides of her face.

"You know it will Elena. It will make everything better, you won't hurt anymore. You won't have to be sad anymore." Elena looked away for a second before turning back to him. She blinked.

"And you'll stay? You won't leave me behind like everyone else does?" Elijah shook his head instantly.

"Never. It'll be just the two of us Elena, forever." She nodded slowly and one of his thumbs stroked over her cheek.

Elena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In her mind she went to the furthest, darkest, dullest corner she could reach and slowly created a large black box. In the box she placed all of the emotions that had ever affected her and she sealed them away tightly. The box was placed behind a large wall that she created and she felt her emotions shut off, like a light switch.

She re-opened her eyes and looked right into Elijah's. He looked back into hers. Her eyes were cold and they no longer swam with the emotions that had tormented her mere moments before. He grinned widely at her and she smirked back.

"Can you get these bloody chains off of me now? They really are very annoying." Elijah chuckled and shook his head slightly in amusement as his hands moved to the chains around her wrists.

"I think I may be able do that."

He snapped both of the shackles, dropping them instantly before they could burn his hands, and he took a hold of both her hands. He stood, pulling her to her feet as he did and she cocked her head at him curiously.

"Well? You finally got me to give in. What now?"

He shrugged and they smirked at each other before their lips crashed together in a searing kiss.

His hands grabbed at her hips and he pulled her flush against his large, muscular body. Her arms hooked around his neck and she pulled his face down, closer to hers. Her hands toyed with the shorter hairs at the back of Elijah's neck as their tongues met in a battle for dominance. She sighed into his mouth.

Her hands travelled down to his front and she pulled the zipper of his leather jacket down before she pushed it off of his shoulders. She pulled his t-shirt up and his hands left her body as she dragged it over his head. His lips moved away from hers as she dropped his shirt to the floor. His hands were back on her instantly, roaming her slim body and his lips landed back on hers, while her hands travelled up over his bare, muscular chest and she hummed in approval.

Her back slammed against the wall on the opposite side of the room and she gasped in surprise. Elijah chuckled darkly and his lips left hers for a second. "Feel something you like." She smirked and ran her hands over his bare chest again.

"Most definitely." He smirked back and lifted her by the backs of her thighs. Her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips crashed together again. His hands began unbuttoning her shirt and they began to push her shirt off her shoulders. Her arms unwound from Elijah's shoulders in order to let him push the shirt from her arms.

It landed on the stone floor with a small sound.

Their clothing was shed quickly after that and they lost themselves in each other over and over again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Well… there you have it. Elena's joined Elijah in the land of the emotionless. What happens now? _

_Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter._

_~ Izzy_


	4. Chapter 4

_Aria Daughter of Chaos: It makes me so insanely happy that you love both of my stories so much and I am so glad that you take the time to read and review my chapters. There is a lot of dark Elejah in this chapter and I hope that you feel I have done them justice. I did touch briefly on why Elijah abandoned his emotions in the first chapter and it is something I am intending to go into more depth about, most likely in the near future._

_Bulldozed88 (Chapter 2): Elijah does definitely feel a certain pull towards Elena, something that shows a little more in this chapter, and I have been toying with several different ways for his emotions to come back; so far they all involve using Elena or something happening to Elena. The pull he feels towards her does definitely mean something and I have a few different ideas of what it could be._

_Bulldozed88 (Chapter 3): Elena's fear of the old Elijah never returning was definitely a big part of her turning her emotions off. As I said in my first reply, I did touch on why Elijah turned everything off and I will go into it in more detail soon. The Mikaelson's do make a rather brief appearance in this chapter and I am hoping to have them make another appearance at some point soon._

_Caitie-AwesomeHippie: Thank you so much! I love reading reviews like this, they make me so happy! _

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!_

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_**Her back slammed against the wall on the opposite side of the room and she gasped in surprise. Elijah chuckled darkly and his lips left hers for a second. "Feel something you like?" She smirked and ran her hands over his bare chest again.**_

"_**Most definitely." He smirked back and lifted her by the backs of her thighs. Her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips crashed together again. His hands began unbuttoning her shirt and they began to push her shirt off her shoulders. Her arms unwound from Elijah's shoulders in order to let him push the shirt from her arms.**_

_**It landed on the stone floor with a small sound.**_

_**Their clothing was shed quickly after that and they lost themselves in each other over and over again.**_

_Elena's eyes were overflowing with tears, they ran from her eyes down her cheeks before they dropped onto the floor._

"_Please Elijah…you can't keep doing this."_

_Elijah smirked at the whimpering doppelgänger and brushed her dark brunette locks away from the nape of her neck. "But your blood…it's so delicious Elena; addicting really." His eyes searched her face and he gently wiped her tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. _

_His fangs elongated and then veins under his eyes blackened and raised. He lightly grazed the sharp tips of his teeth over the crook between her shoulder and her throat. She whimpered again as his fangs slowly pierced her alabaster skin. He felt her tears drip onto the top of his head and could feel her body tremble against his as he took the first pull of her rich blood. _

_Her hands stroked the hair at the back of Elijah's neck, much too kindly for someone he was using as a personal blood bag. Her tears were still dripping onto the top of his head, dampening his cropped hair. _

"_Elijah…it hurts…you're hurting me…" _

_Her voice was quiet, sad, even laced with a little hurt but she wasn't angry with him – he could sense that much. But why wasn't she angry? He was feeding from her, without her permission, she had every right to be furious with him. _

_He gently removed his fangs from her throat and lapped up the droplets of blood leaking from the wounds. He looked her in the eyes and one of hands cupped her cheek. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks; she was looking back at him with sad eyes, not the slightest hint of rage to be seen. _

"_Why aren't you angry with me? You should be furious right now, Elena." He ran the pad of his thumb under the rim of her eye to collect the tears that were forming there. "Lord knows you have every right to be." _

_She shook her head slightly and another tear slipped free of her eyelid. "I can't get mad at you Elijah." He shook his head. _

"_But…why? I don't understand; I hurt you." She tilted her head at him and placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm not mad because I love you Elijah. I have for a while now." His brow furrowed and he placed his large hand over her smaller one, a lone tear rolled down his cheek and he felt her thumb catch it. _

"_Let yourself feel again Elijah, it's okay to feel."_

Elijah woke to the feel of feather light kisses travelling up his stomach to his chest. The soft lips trailed over his chin before landing on his lips, his bizarre dream slowly melting away. Her tongue parted his lips and their rough flesh tangled together, it wasn't long before they began to battle for dominance. As he became more aware of his surroundings he realised he could feel her slim legs straddling his hips. His hands travelled up her thighs and he held her by the waist.

Eventually she took her lips away from his and smiled down at him, he smirked up at her lazily and the pads of his thumbs ran in small circles on her bare hips.

"Well, that was quite the wakeup call."

Elena tilted her head at him and swiped a finger across the corner of his eye before frowning and holding it up for him to see. There was a moisture on the tip of her finger and he frowned also.

"Were you crying?"

His lips quirked down for a second and he shook his head. "No, I don't know what it is." He knew he couldn't have been crying, crying meant emotions and he didn't have them anymore. He shook the thought off and shifted the two of them so that he was sat up and she was sat over his thighs.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

Elena shrugged, accepting his answer and dismissing the question completely, and their lips met in another sloppy kiss. Their tongues tangled again and Elena soon found her back pressed against the mattress. Elijah pulled away from her lips for a second and hovered over her.

She inter-locked her ankles at the small of his back and her arms wound around his neck. She pulled his face back to hers and yet again their lips crashed together.

Just as their embraces grew more passionate they heard a loud pounding coming from the front door.

The pair groaned in unison and they slowly untangled their limbs as the incessant pounding was continuing to be heard on the front door. Elijah grabbed a pair of sweatpants and left the room with a sigh. Elena flopped back onto the bed before she stood and grabbed one of the few left over dress-shirts from his wardrobe. She pulled it on as she left his room and jogged down the steps.

She followed the sounds of voices through to his kitchen. It sounded like his younger siblings.

She rolled her eyes and strode through the doorway, ignoring how the voices stopped the second she walked into the room. She walked to Elijah's fridge and grabbed a blood bag. She tossed it into the microwave and turned it on.

Realising the room was still silent she rolled her eyes again. "Please, don't stop critiquing your older brother's life choices on my account."

She heard a definitive female scoff that was followed almost instantly by a loud sigh. "Great, you flipped the bloody doppelgängers switch too!"

Elena raised an eyebrow at Rebekah's tone and pulled the blood bag from the microwave. She took a sip and grimaced, turning to face Elijah.

"This is disgusting. I seriously need something fresh." He shrugged from where he was leant against the counter. "Go find something to wear and we'll go out. I could do with a bite to eat."

Elena shrugged and tossed the plastic bag at Klaus, he caught it with only a slight drop of blood splashing from the plastic. He pursed his lips and glared at her, she shrugged and left the kitchen.

Elijah chuckled and pushed away from the side to follow after Elena. Kol grabbed his arm as the oldest Original shoved past him.

"Stop this farce Elijah. We both know I'm all for the shenanigans that comes along with no emotions, but this isn't you Elijah. This isn't how you're supposed to be."

Elijah pulled his little brothers hand off of his arm and had him pinned against the wall with his hand around his throat in a split second.

"I _am_ stronger than you, _little brother_, _don't_ get in my way again." Elijah's voice was menacingly quiet and he shoved his brother away from the wall before he stalked out of the room.

Elena was stood in front of his wardrobe, his shirt was on the floor by the doorway and she was completely naked. She didn't look round but sighed and shook her head. "You have _nothing_ to wear."

"_I_ have plenty to wear, _you_ don't. Not that I mind it that way." She finally turned to face him and saw that he was leant against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest and wearing a lazy smirk on his face. She quirked an eyebrow and grinned back. "I do need something to wear if we're going out." He pursed his lips and thought for a second before nodding to himself and disappearing from the doorway.

He was back a second later holding her clothes from before. There was some blood on the neck of her shirt and she raised an eyebrow. Elijah passed the clothes to her as he walked past her, to the wardrobe, where he grabbed a leather jacket.

"We'll go shopping first and you can get some other clothes, these'll do for now." Elena shrugged and pulled her clothes on as Elijah grabbed a pair of pants and white t-shirt and put them on.

They left the house five minutes later - after Elijah had yelled for his siblings to be out of his house by the time they got back.

The two vampires climbed into Elijah's back BMW and the car roared down the driveway. Elena put her feet up on the dash and she reached forward to turn the radio up. Elijah threw a grin at her as he looked over from his place in the driver's seat.

"Where to?"

The younger vampire shrugged and shook her head a little. "Wherever has decent clothes." She watched as Elijah rolled his eyes and turned back to the road, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he sped into the city.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Five hours later the trunk of Elijah's car was full of shopping bags and each of them had roughly another fifteen bags each as they walked back to his car after their last bout of shopping. Elijah had given her free reign of every and any shop and he'd let her spend as much as she wanted to using his credit card.

She changed in the back seat of his car as he drove through to the lower class end of the city, where the clubs and the pubs were.

When she climbed out of the car, she was wearing a metallic silver halter top and a leather mini skirt along with 7-inch heels. Her legs looked a mile long and Elijah quickly had her pinned against the wall outside the entrance to the club.

"Do you have any idea what that outfit is doing to me right now?"

Elena smirked and quirked an amused eyebrow at the man in front of her. "Well, considering what's relentlessly prodding against my leg I would imagine I have a fairly good idea." A low growl rumbled in his chest and he crashed his lips against hers.

She managed to reverse their positions and she pulled her lips away from his. "Maybe later Elijah. I'm hungry."

She turned and sauntered away from the Original, her hips swinging enticingly, and she heard his low snarl before he followed behind her.

Inside the club, the music was loud and blaring; the lights were low and flashing, casting an ominous glow over the club. She felt hands on her hips; his body pressed close to hers and she could feel his lips against her ear.

"Pick someone: anyone."

He kissed the side of her neck before his hands disappeared from her body and he mixed into the crowd. Elena moved towards the mass of hot, sweaty dancers and blended in with them. Her hands were above her head and her eyes were closed as she danced – letting her instincts guide her through the throng of partiers.

She stopped suddenly and reached out blindly, placing her hands on the hips of a slim figure. When she opened her eyes she saw that her chosen meal was a tall, skinny blonde. Elena brought her lips down to the woman's neck and began laving at her tanned skin, raising her blood to the surface.

The blonde moaned and threw her head back as Elena continued her attention on the woman's neck. The brunette slid her hand down the woman's front and slipped it under the waistband of the denim shorts she was wearing. Her thumb teased the blonde's clitoris for a second before she pressed down firmly, harshly.

Three or so minutes later (with Elena's thumb tirelessly manipulating her clit) the blonde came, hard; Elena's fangs slipped free from her gums and she latched onto the other woman's throat. Her eyes closed in bliss as she fed from the woman in front of her, who was panting as she tried to come down from the high of her climax.

Elena sensed his presence before she felt his hands wind around the blonde's waist and grab hers, pulling her closer to him (sandwiching the blonde in the middle of them). The smell of the blonde's blood intensified as Elijah bit into the other side of her neck.

Soon enough (too soon) the blonde grew limp in the grasp of the two vampires and they pulled away. Elena made a cut in her tongue and pressed her lips to the blonde's, ensuring she got vampire blood in her system – only enough to heal the puncture wounds in her throat. Once she was done she let the blonde go and murmured quiet instructions for her to go and clean herself up.

Elijah crushed the brunette's body against his and his mouth plundered hers. They sighed into each other's mouths; clearing all traces of the human blood from the other's mouth.

Elena pulled away and moved her lips to his ear. "I need more. I _want_ more."

Elijah chuckled; low and dark. "Then let's go somewhere else."

She hummed in approval and they left the club – Elijah's hands never leaving the younger vampires body. Outside the club she found her back against the concrete and her legs wrapped around his hips. Their tongues battled for dominance and their hands roamed each other's bodies. When Elijah's lips travelled to Elena's throat she managed to speak again. "I thought we were going somewhere else." Elijah groaned and his forehead fell forward onto Elena's shoulder.

"Come on Elena! You're killing me here!"

She smirked (not that he could see) and patted the top of his head lightly. "Aww, my poor baby." He looked up at her with a scowl on his face and she quirked a brow at him. "Don't worry Elijah, you'll get some later."

He pressed her more firmly against the wall and smiled darkly. "I'll hold you to that."

"I look forward to it." He smirked back and moved away from her slightly, to let her hop down, and they were back in his car.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Elijah pulled up outside a small bar and threw a grin her way. "Take what you want, Elena, no holding back this time."

He disappeared from the driver's seat a second later and Elena was quick to follow. Once in the bar, she shut and locked the door behind her. There were only about fifteen people in the bar; screams filled the air as she watched Elijah tear into the first throat of many. She smirked to herself as a woman ran past her, to the locked doors.

The woman pulled and banged on the doors, sobbing and yelling for help. Elena chuckled and fisted a hand in her hair, she yanked her head back (exposing her throat). The brunettes fangs extended, the veins under her eyes darkened; she tore into the woman's throat.

When the woman fell limp in Elena's hold and her blood ran dry, she snapped the woman's neck and moved onto her next victim. Blood dripped from her chin and she was grinning widely. Her eyes met the Originals – he too had blood on his chin and was wearing a large smirk – just as he tore into his next victim's throat.

Elena sped to a brunette male and tore into his throat without any finesse, drinking his blood in large gulps.

Everyone in the bar was screaming and the two vampires relished in it as they tore apart every occupant.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Whoa, definite emotionless, murderous vampire rampage there. _

_What did you think of dark Elejah? _

_Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter._


	5. Chapter 5

_Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm so glad you think that my writing is doing this perfect couple justice. I will say that you find out the reason for Elijah flipping his switch in this chapter._

_Sarah August: I'm glad you like this story, thank you for reviewing!_

_Sharbour0108: I'm glad you loved last chapter and hope you enjoy this one as much._

_Caitie-AwesomeHippie: That chapter did get super dark, as does the end of this one, and I do love writing these two in such a dark way. _

_Bulldozed88: Dark Elejah is my absolute fav and Elena was definitely a tease! Elijah's emotions are definitely fighting their way back, he's starting to realize exactly what he's done to Elena and the old him is trying to come back to make everything right again. I'm not sure yet what will trigger Elijah's emotions fully, I do like the idea of one of his siblings taking and threatening Elena but I have another idea that is sort of writing itself at the moment!_

_Guest: I know right! Thank you for reviewing._

_Kristiomar90: I'm glad you love it, thank you for your review!_

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story, I hope you all enjoy this chapter._

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_The brunettes fangs extended, the veins under her eyes darkened; she tore into the woman's throat._

_When the woman fell limp in Elena's hold and her blood ran dry, she snapped the woman's neck and moved onto her next victim. Blood dripped from her chin and she was grinning widely. Her eyes met the Originals – he too had blood on his chin and was wearing a large smirk – just as he tore into his next victim's throat. _

_Elena sped to a brunette male and tore into his throat without any finesse, drinking his blood in large gulps._

_Everyone in the bar was screaming and the two vampires relished in it as they tore apart every occupant._

When Elena woke up, the first thing she registered was that the room she was in was unfamiliar, as was the bed. Eventually her groggy mind caught up and she remembered what had happened once she and Elijah had finished off the patrons of the bar.

They had searched through all of their victims' wallets until they had found the richest person they had killed; they had found their address, stolen their house keys and had driven to their house.

Once there, they had let themselves in. Instantly Elijah's lips had landed on Elena's; for the first time that night she had finally given into him, letting him peel her clothes from her body as she had torn his clothes from his – too impatient to feel his skin against hers to care about teasing the handsome Original anymore.

Elena rolled over in the large, queen sized bed and saw that Elijah was still asleep. All the tension that had used to line his features when he had his emotions on (although even with his emotions off he was tense) had melted away from his face. In its place there was an innocent, almost sweet, expression on his face.

Elena found herself with the sudden urge to reach out and brush away the longer lock of his hair that had fallen over his eye in his sleep. She shook her head to dispel of the thought and threw the duvet off of her, climbing out of the bed, she shuddered as the cold air hit her naked body.

Elijah groaned and tossed in the bed, Elena turned back to him (thinking she had woken him) but saw that he was still fast asleep. A low whine sounded from his throat and Elena's brow furrowed in confusion as she moved closer to the bed.

"Elijah?" She spoke his name quietly, not wanting to wake him yet wanting him to hear her all the same. He groaned and shook his head, muttering something unintelligible. He sounded upset and worried and she quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

She used her vampire speed to pull on the remainder of his t-shirt (it was sporting a large tear down the front, but finished a little before it would be split in half completely) from the night before. Soundlessly, she moved to his side of the bed and frowned down at the Original, his cheeks were glistening with tears that had slipped free from his eyes and she shook her head in confusion – his emotions were supposed to be off, why the hell did he keep crying?

She gently placed her hand on the Originals cheek and spoke his name again. The young vampire let out a squeal in surprise as Elijah moved with vampire speed to grab her wrist and flip her body onto the bed – under him. He frowned down at her, seemingly confused as to how they had ended up that way.

"Elena? What happened?" She quirked a brow and shook her head slightly.

"I think you were having a bad dream again."

He let out a sigh and rolled away from Elena, lying on his back next to her. He ran his hands over his face, to wipe away the lingering moisture, before running his fingers through his hair.

"What the hell is happening with you Elijah? Your switch is supposed to be flipped. Off." The Original let out another loud sigh and shook his head slightly. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed – facing away from Elena.

"Christ Elena, I don't know what's happening to me…" His voice was quiet and resigned, lacking the fire she had grown used to; he placed his head in his hands. She looked at his back with a slight sadness and placed a hand on his shoulder, she squeezed once before she shoved all of her emotions back and took her hand away. The young vampire got off the bed and left the bedroom without saying anything else to Elijah.

She went down to the kitchen and started to look through the cupboards. She'd already forgotten whose house they were in; she couldn't even remember if it had been a man or a woman but she didn't care.

Whoever it had been, their cupboards were full of a massive variety of foods and Elena tilted her head for a moment – considering the choice – before she grabbed a pack of bacon, a pack of sausages and a carton of eggs from the fridge as well as a loaf of bread from the bred bin.

Elena flicked on the switch at the wall to turn the oven on; she put the sausages and bacon on the grill and searched for a frying pan. Instead she came across a stereo and a collection of CD's, as she looked through them she noticed a Three Days Grace disc and quickly put it in the player – turning the volume all the way up.

She danced over to a different cupboard and finally found the frying pan she had been looking for. She cracked two eggs into the pan and waited for them to cook. When they were done she tossed them onto a plate (sunny side up) and cracked two more into the pan.

When everything else was cooked, she forked two pieces of bread into the frying pan and let them fry before putting one onto either plate. She turned to yell at the Original that food was ready but jumped when she saw he was right behind her – weirdly she hadn't sensed his presence, she must have been lost in listening to the music. The man smirked at her before he looked over to the plates of food. He reached out and took one (smiling at her as he did), he took some cutlery and walked over to the table.

"Thank you Elena, this looks great."

He didn't need to raise his voice to be heard over the ear-splitting music, instead his quiet voice was powerful enough that he only needed to speak normally. Elena tilted her head at the Original's back, wondering why he was being so nice, before shrugging slightly and grabbing her food and cutlery and placing them opposite the older vampire, turning the music down before she sat in her seat.

"What happened to you this morning?" The older vampire quirked an eyebrow at her and took a bite of his sausage, chewing and swallowing before he replied. "I thought _your_ switch was off?"

Elena glared at his using her own queries against her and rolled her eyes. "It is, but if you're going to go back to normal, then get all guilty and try to flip mine back too, then I'd like a heads up. So I can, you know, leave."

He sighed and settled back into the chair he was sat in. Elijah put his cutlery down and ran a hand through his hair.

"Would it really be so bad?" He tilted his head at the doppelgänger opposite him, watching as she scoffed incredulously and shook her head. The cutlery in her hands clattered back onto the china; she glared at him.

"You can't be serious? You spent however long trying to flip my switch and now you've finally done it you want to go back to how everything was before?" He shrugged and clasped his hands in front of him, elbows on the table.

"Why not? Elena, the reason I flipped my switch is non-existent now, why stay like this? What's the point anymore?" Elena shook her head again and crossed her arms across her chest. "Why _did_ you turn it off? You never really told me."

"You remember Silas?" The brunette rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course I bloody well do, he wanted to shove me into the other side, forever, so he could pull his dead lover out so that she could take my place and they could have their happy ending. He is hardly the type of person I'm likely to forget."

Elena's voice was a sneer and Elijah quirked an eyebrow at her before he took a bite from his fried bread and swallowed. He took a deep breath and waited a beat before he replied to her. "So I presume you recall the measures you took to escape his reach."

Elena stood from her seat at the table; found a glass and filled it with water. She gulped half of the glass down straight away. She remained turned away from the vampire at the table as she replied to him. "Of course I do. I let him take me to the other side and then I hid from him. I got trapped on the other side when he eventually gave up and left. It took me three and a half months to make my way back to the land of the living."

The Original stood and moved to stand inches behind Elena, all without a sound. She could only tell that he was behind her because she had grown so used to his powerful presence that she knew she would be able to sense him in the middle of the subway at rush hour if she was looking for him.

"Seven months, Elena, I thought you were dead for _seven_ _months_." Elijah's voice was low and pained and he took another moment before he spoke again.

"From the very first time we met you were terrified of me, yet you stood there and you tried to _negotiate_ with me. Then again, after I finessed an invitation into your house- into the one place you should have felt safe – and you negotiated with me again." He placed his large hands on her slim waist and she felt his toned chest press against her back.

"You stood up to me Elena, no matter what, not even my siblings have the bravery to do that. That's when I realised that you were the right one for me, you challenged me in every way; somewhere along the course of our acquaintance I fell in love with you Elena. When I heard that you were dead, I tried to stay hopeful, but I went back to Mystic Falls and I watched as your friends grieved for you. I gave up, I couldn't deal with the fact that you were gone Elena. So I turned it off."

Elena shuddered at the raw passion pouring from his words as her lust, the only emotion she ever really felt anymore, kicked into full blast. "Elijah…" Her voice was a quiet whisper; his hands twisted on her hips to spin her body around to face him and their lips crashed together again. Elijah lifted her hips and placed her on the countertop, her legs and arms curled around his body and she held him close.

Just as her hands slipped under the t-shirt (one he had stolen from the closet) and moved up to his shoulders, he pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

"Lovely as this house is, I much prefer my own." She hummed and pecked his lips with hers.

"Let's go then."

In a split second they were back in Elijah's car and he sped from the driveway, back to his house.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The second they were back in his driveway they were out of the car and Elena felt her back slam against the front door as the Originals lips descended on hers. She reached behind her and fumbled with the doorknob. Finally managing to grasp the knob and turn it, they stumbled through the doorway; Elijah kicked the door shut behind them.

She tore the shirt from his body and hers (technically his, and the only item of clothing she was wearing) landed on the floor shortly after his as they began to make their way up to his bedroom. Her back slammed against a different wall and Elijah lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. His lips trailed down her throat; Elena's head thunked back against the wall behind her and her hands threaded through his hair.

They heard several throats clear behind them and Elena rolled her eyes when she looked over and saw Elijah's siblings stood in the doorway. Without removing his mouth from Elena's collarbone he replied to his siblings.

"I thought I told you all to be out of here before we got back."

They heard Klaus sigh and Elena saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye. "Did you seriously think we were going to leave you here to drag other people into your mess? You've already managed to pull Elena into all of this."

A low growl rumbled in Elijah's chest and Elena felt his fangs extend against the column of her throat.

"It is her fault after all, why should I have left her out of this?"

His siblings didn't get the chance to respond before his fangs tore into her throat; Elena hiccupped in surprise before she managed to slowly relax her tightly coiled body and the hands that were in his hair pulled his face closer to her throat. After a few gulps of her blood, Elijah pulled his fangs free of her throat and a snarl ripped free from the base of his throat.

"She let me believe she was dead, for _seven_ _months_ I thought she was dead! She was alive for half of that time and she let everyone think she was dead!"

This time Elena felt Elijah's lips moved down to the top of her breast and (without any gentleness) he sunk them back into her flesh. Elena gasped in surprise and - rather than pulling him closer, that time – she squirmed in his hold and tried to push him away from her. She could faintly hear Elijah's siblings warning him through the haze that was beginning to cover her mind.

As Elena continued to struggle against him, one of Elijah's hands twisted in her hair and he pulled her head to the side, his fangs leaving the swell of her breast and tearing back into her throat. Elena's breath hitched as Elijah gulped down her blood.

She could feel herself slowly slipping away as she lost more blood to the vampire feeding from her. Just before she fell unconscious she felt several pairs of hands prying Elijah away from her body. The brunette collapsed to the floor, her vision was fuzzy and her hearing sounded like there was water in her ears.

Before she passed out from the blood loss she saw Elijah sag in his siblings' hold, giving into their superior strength as all three of them held him away. Kol released his brother and his concerned face appeared in front of Elena almost instantly.

His lips were moving but she couldn't hear a word of what he was saying. Her eyes drooped shut and the youngest Mikaelson brother's voice finally pierced the haze that was rapidly taking over her.

"Elena? Come on Elena! Open your eyes!"

Elena's eyes stayed closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Well, that got a lot more intense than I expected, that end bit sort of wrote itself…_

_What do you think is happening with Elijah? Why did he attack Elena? What's going to happen to Elena? Please drop a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Sharbour0108: I'm glad you loved last chapter and hope you enjoy this one as much. Elijah definitely would have done a lot worse if his siblings hadn't been there to stop him, and he certainly does love her with everything in him._

_Aria Daughter of Chaos: Yes, Elijah thought that Elena was dead and gone for good so he just couldn't deal with the pain for any longer. I'm not sure yet what his happening with Elijah, I basically get the ideas as I write, I never really plan any of my chapters! I do like the idea of someone controlling him with magic though._

_Caitie-AwesomeHippie: Thank you so much! It makes me so happy that my writing can affect you in such a way._

_Kristiomar90: Elena was on the other side for several months, as I said last chapter, she hid from Elijah on the other side and got trapped there when he couldn't find her. I'm not sure if I will go into more detail on what happened to her over there yet or not._

_Bulldozed88: There is definitely something or someone controlling Elijah and Elena was completely stunned by his attack on her last chapter and if he was in his right mind he wouldn't have been so cruel on her. I'm glad you loved the chapter _

_A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me a little while, I meant to finish and update this chapter the other day, but my dad stole the computer and I haven't had a chance to finish this off and post it until today :( _

_Thank you to all my reviewers! I hope everyone reading this enjoys this chapter :)_

_Just before she fell unconscious she felt several pairs of hands prying Elijah away from her body. The brunette collapsed to the floor, her vision was fuzzy and her hearing sounded like there was water in her ears. _

_Before she passed out from the blood loss she saw Elijah sag in his siblings' hold, giving into their superior strength as all three of them held him away. Kol released his brother and his concerned face appeared in front of Elena almost instantly. _

_His lips were moving but she couldn't hear a word of what he was saying. Her eyes drooped shut and the youngest Mikaelson brother's voice finally pierced the haze that was rapidly taking over her. _

"_Elena? Come on Elena! Open your eyes!" _

_Elena's eyes stayed closed and she slipped into unconsciousness. _

A sigh escaped Elena's slightly parted lips and Kol was instantly alert from where he was sat by her side. Her eyes opened slowly and she stared blankly at the man in front of her, trying to recall his face through the haze of waking up from…well, being dead. When her brain caught up with her eyes and she finally remembered who he was - and what had happened to her - she groaned and closed her eyes for a second.

"He killed me?"

Kol let out the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and waited until Elena opened her eyes and looked at him again. Only once she had, he took a deep, measured breath and nodded, wary of setting off the emotionless vampire in front of him.

"Technically, yes. If you were a human, you would be dead right now." Elena nodded and licked her lips before she sat up and threw the duvet off of her. She stood from the bed and rolled her eyes when the Original in front of her turned away.

"Aww, come on Kol, if you brought me up here, I presume you've already seen it all. What's the point in looking away?"

Elena heard him grind his teeth together and he shook his head. "_Actually_, Elena, we covered you up before I brought you up here."

Elena walked behind the chair he was sat on and put her hands on the back, she leant forward and whispered seductively in his ear.

"All the more reason to look now…"

Kol shook his head again and Elena heard him swallow thickly. "Elena…you're with my brother…"

The brunette pouted at the back of his head and dropped her hand to his collarbone. She walked back around him, with her hand trailing lightly along his chest, and straddled his legs before he could stop her.

"It's hardly a commitment Kol, with either of you." She placed her arms around his shoulders and pushed her breasts against his clothed chest, pouting again and tilting her head when his eyes remained studiously on hers.

"Elena-"

She cut him off with a finger on his lips and shook her head. "It's just sex Kol. Nothing more." She ground her most intimate area against his and smirked when his breath hitched in his throat. She repeated the action and his hands came up to hold her hips still.

"Stop it, Elena!"

She grinned at the flustered Original and her lips descended to his ear.

"Oh come on Kol! I thought you were supposed to be the fun brother…"

A growl rumbled in his chest and suddenly she was under him on the bed. She let out a chuckle and wound her slim legs around his hips, pulling his body closer to hers.

"If you wanna be in control, that's fine with me."

He snarled at her and wound a hand in her hair before he wrenched her head to the side, exposing her neck. "That is _more_ than enough, Elena. Stop this now, before I have to force you to stop."

She quirked her lips, seemingly unaffected by her vulnerable position, and laughed. "I'd like to see how you go about that. You won't hurt me, Kol, like you said, I'm technically with your brother. He really wouldn't be very happy with you, even with his humanity gone."

Kol nodded and tilted his head at the woman under him.

"You're quite right of course, I won't hurt you, not if my brother will be able to see it."

She smirked at him, but the smirk froze and slowly fell from her face as he snapped her neck with his vampire speed.

"But I can kill you, after all, he won't be able to see that."

He muttered to her (albeit temporarily) dead body and untangled her limbs from his body before he climbed off of the large bed and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Elijah was pacing downstairs and he had long since reached the point of beyond agitated. Since he had lost control and attacked Elena, not one of his siblings had let him near her, using the excuse that - if he were to accidentally kill her - he would hate himself for it when he finally found his way back to his humanity, like they were so convinced he was going to.

Elijah snarled at Niklaus when he quickly moved into his path as the elder brother tried to go and see Elena, not believing that the girl _he_ had made _better_ was safe with Kol.

"For Christ's sake Niklaus, I'm hardly going to kill her! I went through all of this trouble just to get her to turn her humanity off, why would I kill her now?"

Niklaus glared at him and shoved his older brother away from the door. "I don't bloody know Elijah, but you've already tried to kill her once today!"

Elijah rolled his eyes in exasperation and annoyance as he turned away from his half-brother.

"I was proving a point to you all Niklaus." The hybrid scoffed and Elijah saw him shake his head in disbelief as he turned back to him.

"What point is that, brother? That you're a psychotic, homicidal maniac now?" Elijah shrugged, a cool look of indifference perfectly in place.

"Exactly, Niklaus, I was proving to you all that the brother you want back _isn't_ _here_ anymore. I don't care who I hurt, _brother_. So, I suggest you do yourself a favour, and _get out of my way." _

"You don't care about _Elena_ anymore then?" Elijah turned to look at his sister, she was stood behind his with her arms folded across her chest.

"You went through all of this trouble to get her to join you, because you love her, and now you're telling us that you don't care about her? It's blatantly obvious that you flippen' love her Elijah! And now you've just gone and tried to kill her!" She walked closer to Elijah and unfolded her arms, gesturing wildly.

"I hardly said that I do not care about her, Rebekah, I turned her into what she is now. I would like to think she's…a protégé of sorts." Rebekah ignored her brother and Klaus rolled his eyebrow, the only thing stopping his remark was that his sister was still on her tangent.

"Elijah, I refuse to believe that the guilt of everything that you have done to that girl – even though I can't stand her - isn't eating you up inside;"

_Elijah…it hurts…you're hurting me…_

"I refuse to accept that you really believe that your emotions are gone for good." She took hold of Elijah's hand and stared into his eyes imploringly. "You know that love is the thing that stays with you, Elijah. Love is the only emotion that you haven't let go of: the one emotion that you _refuse_ to let go of."

…_because I love you Elijah._

"That's why you took her, isn't it? That's why you got her to turn off her humanity and join you. Because, under this emotionless farce, you still love that bloody doppelgänger, and you feel absolutely horrible for what you've done to her." Rebekah placed a hand on Elijah cheek and she smiled at him softly.

"Let it all in Elijah, let your love for her back in."

_Let yourself feel again Elijah, it's okay to feel._

Elijah's eyes welled with tears (both because of his sisters words and because of his memories of the dream Elena) and, as Rebekah stroked a thumb over his cheek bone, the first droplet of salty water slipped free and rolled down his cheek.

"I hurt her 'Bekah, I hurt Elena: I never wanted to hurt her."

She nodded and smiled at her older brother sympathetically. "I know you didn't want to, 'Lijah, I know."

She stepped closer as more tears slid down the Originals cheeks and he let his head fall forward onto his little sister's shoulder as his emotions flooded his mind again: grief, love and (so far the most potent) self-loathing. Everything crashed into his consciousness and he sobbed into his little sister's shoulder as she drew him into a hug.

His knees buckled under the onslaught of emotion and Rebekah – still holding him in her arms - slowly sank to the hardwood floor, pulling her older brother onto her lap. Elijah's arms wound around his sisters torso and he held her close (as his tears soaked the neck of her top), selfishly trying to draw comfort from her embrace. Her hands rubbed his back slowly as she gently rocked him from side to side and she looked at Nik over Elijah's head, with sad eyes.

Kol finally came down the stairs at that point to join his siblings. Klaus and he walked to their brother and sister and each placed a hand on Elijah's shoulder, in a silent show of comfort and loyalty to their big brother.

Eventually the four siblings felt another presence in the room and all looked towards the doorway. They saw Elena staring back at them, wearing a set of her clothes that she must've taken from Elijah's car at some point. The young vampire looked over the scene in front of her: the siblings united around the emotional brother, and shook her head slightly, in disbelief and slight amusement.

Her small frame was trembling slightly as she met Elijah's warm, brown eyes, tears were still dreaming down his face. He swallowed and looked at her sadly.

"I'm so, so sorry, Elena."

She shook her head again and let out a small laugh. "I knew this was going to happen. You're _weak_ Elijah." He flinched against his sister at Elena's harsh tone and took a shaky breath, trying to figure out what he could possibly say to her.

She disappeared from the doorway before he could say anything and, by the time the siblings managed to gather their shocked selves and follow her, she was gone, roaring down the driveway in Elijah's car. Elijah slammed a fist against the wooden fame of the door, leaving a dent, and cursed under his breath.

"Hey, it'll be okay 'Lijah. We'll find her."

Elijah let out a low laugh and shook his head. "How can this possibly be okay Rebekah? I turned her into this, and, the worst part is, I made her believe that there was _nothing_ for her with her emotions on. I _made her believe_ that _no one_ cared. Why on earth would she want to go back now?"

Elijah suddenly rounded on his youngest brother and glared at him. "You were supposed to be with her! Why weren't you there?"

Elijah was yelling and Kol flinched away from him, shaking his head slightly.

"I-I didn't think she'd wake up that fast." Elijah snarled, inches away from his little brother, who was trembling. Elijah rarely lost his temper, but, when he did, his siblings knew exactly how cruel and punishing he could be.

"What do you mean?"

His voice was a low hiss and Kol shook his head slightly. "She kept coming onto me, so…I broke her neck to get her to stop it…"

Elijah growled and lunged at his brother, fangs out. Niklaus and Rebekah grabbed his arms to hold him back. Eventually they managed to overpower the enraged Original and Niklaus threw him back against the wall.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Elijah?"

His siblings were staring at him with wide eyes and Elijah's own eyes widened when he realised what he had just tried to do. He stopped fighting Klaus's hold on him and let himself be held in place against the wall.

He shook his head slightly and stared at Kol with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm sorry Kol, I don't know what's happening to me." Kol nodded slowly before looking to their half-brother. Klaus carefully let go of Elijah's arms and, rather than lashing out again, the Original slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

He dropped his head into his hands and took a deep breath.

"What's happening to me?"

Rebekah sat next to him and sighed. "I dunno 'Lijah, but here's what's going to happen; we're going to help you find that bloody doppelgänger, you're going to turn her emotions back on and then we're going to figure out what's happening to you, okay?"

Elijah didn't reply and his sister turned his face so that his gaze was focused back on her and she fixed him with a stern look.

"Okay? I may really dislike that bloody doppelgänger, but you obviously care about her, a lot. So we are going to help you sort her out, and then we're going to figure out what's happening to you."

Elijah slowly nodded, as much as he could with his sister still holding his chin and one corner of his lip quirked slightly, in a lame attempt at a smile. "Okay."

She smiled happily back at him and let go of his chin before standing up and offering a hand to her brother to help him up. He placed his large hand in her petite one and let his sister gently pull him to his feet.

Elijah glanced down at what he was wearing – a form-hugging, plain, black t-shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of black and white sneakers. He looked back up at his siblings and then back at his clothes.

"I am going to go and change."

He brushed past his siblings without waiting to hear their replies and walked up the staircase to his bedroom.

The three siblings exchanged glances and Klaus led them back into the kitchen, he grabbed three glass tumblers and took a bottle of whisky from the cabinet to his right. He poured them all half a glass and downed his straight away before he poured more into his own glass. Rebekah and Kol each took a small sip from their tumbler and Rebekah tapped her painted nails against the glassware.

"There's something different about him." Klaus scoffed and shook his head at his brother's statement. "He's just regained his emotions and realised that he's spent almost a week turning the person he loves into a monster! What d'you bloody well expect, Kol?"

"Niklaus is right." Before Kol could respond to his hybrid half-brother, his eldest brother spoke. The sibling's heads turned to the doorway and they looked at their older brother in surprise, not one of them had realised he was there. He had changed into black suit and white suit shirt, with his normal, plain, black tie.

"Elijah, I…" Niklaus trailed off and Elijah shook his head slightly. "It's okay, Niklaus, you have nothing to apologise for, you are right." He walked over to the cupboard and took a tumbler, he took the whisky from his brother and poured himself a glass – to the rim. The Original took a sip before he turned back to his brother.

"Elena is brutal now, and it is all because of me."

Elijah knocked back the rest of his whisky and slammed his glass onto the table. "I turned her into this and I _am_ going to get her back." He strode from the room and, without looking back to his siblings, called out to them.

"Are any of you coming?"

Please review and tell me what you thought, I love hearing from you all

~ Izzy


	7. Chapter 7

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I do have an idea for how they will make Elena regain her humanity, and it definitely isn't how they did it on the show. There will be no torturing involved as I think that was just a plainly stupid idea on the Salvatore's part. We do see some of the Mystic Falls gang in this chapter, I don't plan on re-introducing them after this at the moment, possibly at a later point, but right now I really prefer focussing on Elena and the Originals.**_

_**Bulldozed88: Elijah is beyond remorseful at this point, he's basically just come back to himself and realised that he's spent over a week torturing the woman he loves and then turning her into a ruthless killer! Elena has definitely been set up by Elijah to be completely ruthless, as you will begin to see towards the end of this chapter.**_

_**A/N: Sorry it's been a little while… **_

_**Thank you to 'Aria Daughter of Chaos' and 'bulldozed88' for being the only two to review last chapter and to consistently review this entire story, I love you two!**_

_**Just out of a completely random curiosity, for anyone who reads these, how old do you think I am based on my writing? **_

_**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**_

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_He had changed into black suit and white suit shirt, with his normal, plain, black tie._

"_Elijah, I…" Niklaus trailed off and Elijah shook his head slightly. "It's okay, Niklaus, you have nothing to apologise for, you are right." He walked over to the cupboard and took a tumbler, he took the whisky from his brother and poured himself a glass – to the rim. The Original took a sip before he turned back to his brother. _

"_Elena is brutal now, and it is all because of me." _

_Elijah knocked back the rest of his whisky and slammed his glass onto the table. "I turned her into this and I am going to get her back." He strode from the room and, without looking back to his siblings, called out to them._

"_Are any of you coming?"_

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Damon Salvatore's tumbler of bourbon shattered against the fireplace when he threw it in his rage. The fire roared when several drops of the potent alcohol landed in the flickering flames, but he barely noticed.

Elena had disappeared without a trace over a week ago and there had been absolutely no leads on where she could have been taken. Caroline and Stefan had disappeared to follow up a possible lead that he, of course, hadn't been told about until after they were well over half way there. He had been left at the boarding house and they had tried to placate him by telling him that he would be there if Elena were to come back.

It was at that very moment that he heard a car pull to a stop out the front and a door opened and slammed. He was able to hear quick feet make their way to the front door. Damon rounded the corner just in time to see Elena open the front door.

She looked up at him with sad eyes and gently shut the door behind her. A lone tear rolled down her cheek.

Almost instantly, Damon had her enveloped in his arms and hers wrapped around his shoulders as she hugged him back, sobbing into the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I'm so sorry."

The elder vampire frowned in confusion and rubbed her back softly in an attempt to calm the hysterical brunette down.

"It's okay, Elena. None of this was your fault." He felt her nod into his shoulder and heard her crying slow down as she slowly calmed down. "It is, I left with him. I should have stayed with you, Damon, I'm sorry."

She pulled away from him and looked him in the eye, her eyes were still glistening with tears and they still flowed onto her cheeks. Damon's large hands cupped the sides of her face and he gently brushed the tears away with his thumb. He frowned at her.

"Elena, what the hell are you on about?"

She shook her head slightly and her gaze transferred to the floorboards. "I left with Stefan. He manipulated me into thinking I still loved him, so I left with him, but I realised I don't. I love you, Damon."

He looked at the woman in front of him with sad eyes and shook his head slightly. "What do you mean? Stefan's been helping me look for you all week."

Elena shook her head furiously and covered his hands with hers. She pulled them from her face and grasped them tightly.

"That's what he wanted you to think. It's all a lie, Damon. He told me everything, he said he would come back here and 'help you' for three weeks. Then he would leave you and come back to me."

Damon's jaw clenched and he glared at nothing in particular. Everything she was saying made sense, Stefan had told him from the start that he would only help for three weeks and that, if they hadn't found her by then, that he was going to catch the plane that he had booked before she had disappeared and get the hell out of Mystic Falls.

Apparently he'd been planning the trip for a while, after finally deciding that he needed some space from Elena so that he could fully move on from her and clear his head.

"Why? Why would he do this, Elena?" She shrugged slightly and led him into the parlour with a soft hand in his.

"I don't know, but I think I heard him say to Caroline that he only wanted to take me away so that he could take something else away from you. That's part of the reason I decided I had to come back, to you." Elena watched in satisfaction as a muscle in Damon's jaw strained and ticked and he shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't believe him. He really thought that this would work?" She nodded slowly and walked over to the decanters of bourbon that he kept. Elena poured them each a glass and covered her gleeful smile with a remorseful one before turning back to the raven haired brother and offering one to him.

"I'm so sorry, Damon. He really made me believe that I still loved him. I never would have left if I had been myself. I know you probably hate me for this…"

She turned her gaze from his and looked to the floorboards, his hands cupped her cheeks and he gently turned her face so that she was looking at him again.

"Hey… I don't blame you for this, Elena. This was all Stefan's fault, he manipulated you. No matter what you do, I could never hate you, Elena, _I love you_."

Elena smiled softly at the man in front of her and connected their lips in a soft kiss, full of sadness and emotion. His large hands covered her cheeks and his thumbs gently rubbed the soft skin there.

After a minute, Elena gently covered one of his hands with her own and pulled away from him. "I think I hear someone."

Sure enough, they heard a car pull to a stop outside the house before they heard the engines cut out and two doors opened. One set of footsteps were a lot lighter than the other and had a small clip-clop accompanying them as they walked closer to the boarding house.

The second Stefan Salvatore entered the boarding house, he was pinned to the wall by his enraged brother who had a hand around his throat. Caroline Forbes moved to help Stefan, but Elena stood in her way and shook her head.

"You know Damon's stronger than you, Caroline, there's no point in trying."

The blonde shook her head in disbelief and stared at her best friend in shock. "You can't be serious, Elena! You're just going to stand there and let Damon attack Stefan?" Elena shrugged slightly.

"If Damon wants to do something, he will. We hardly have a chance in hell of stopping him."

"Well, you know what, Elena? That tiny chance in hell used to be more than enough for you! What the hell changed?"

There was a loud smash behind Elena and she turned to see that Damon had thrown Stefan into the liquor cabinet. He stood and looked at Elena sadly. "She changed."

Damon stopped in his advancement on his brother and stared at him curiously, the younger brother shrugged slightly and shook his head as Caroline appeared at his side.

"Why would Elena make up a lie like that, unless her humanity's turned off?"

The three vampires turned to Elena and she rolled her eyes, letting out a loud sigh. "I was hoping it would take you longer to figure out, your fights are rather entertaining."

"Why, Elena? Why would you do this, again?" Caroline sounded hurt and the brunette shrugged, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"Why the hell not?" She laughed and disappeared from the house. They heard a car engine rev, but by the time they got out there the car was already gone, roaring away from the Salvatore's house.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was as Elijah drove over the border to Mystic Falls that Niklaus's phone rang. Elijah glanced at his younger brother before looking back to the road, his hands flexed on the steering wheel and he hissed out a low breath between his clenched teeth. He'd been steadily growing even tenser as they had neared Mystic Falls and Niklaus had wound up periodically reminding him to loosen his grip on the steering wheel in front of him before he broke it.

"Stefan, mate, what can I do for you?"

Elijah's gaze snapped to his brother as he heard the younger Salvatore's name leave his lips. His little brother shrugged and shook his head slightly as he took his phone from his ear and put it on speakerphone. They all could have heard what Stefan was saying anyway, but it was preferable for them to not have to strain their hearing.

Rebekah lightly tapped Elijah on the head and hissed in his ear for him to look back at the road. He sighed, but acquiesced, he really wasn't in the mood to face a car crash.

"We need you to help us find Elena, she was here a minute ago and she's turned it off again."

Stefan's voice made Elijah press his foot more firmly on the gas pedal and he turned straight down the route that would take them towards the Salvatore boarding house. Niklaus hung up on the Salvatore without saying another word and pocketed his phone.

Within minutes, they were arriving at the boarding house. Seeing that his car wasn't there, Elijah drove straight past the large house and let out an agitated sigh.

'Lijah, look over there."

His little sister's hand came over the back of the seat and he followed the direction she was pointing in. A black BMW was the first thing he noticed, or, more specifically, his black BMW. They watched as the car turned to the left and Elijah went to follow it, but they quickly found themselves stuck behind another car at a red light. To their right was another car, effectively trapping them in and Elijah let out a frustrated growl, slamming his hand on the steering wheel.

"Relax, brother, it hardly like she'll have gone far."

Kol's comment did nothing but infuriate Elijah and his hands gradually tightened on the wheel in front of him until a small crack echoed through the car. Klaus cried out indignantly and glared at the side of his brother's head.

"I know you're bloody annoyed, but this is my car you're destroying!" Elijah slowly loosened his grip on the black vinyl he was holding and took a low breath, holding it for a moment before expelling it slowly.

"My apologies, Niklaus, I seem to have forgotten the point at which your cars welfare was deemed a more pressing issue than Elena's." The eldest Original bit out, only just managing to keep his vampire features from surfacing. Just as Niklaus was about to make his retort, their little sisters voice cut over them.

"Oi! Don't you two bloody start! You can buy a new car, Nik, you're hardly lacking the money, are you?"

The hybrid frowned at his sister, but settled back into the leather seat, shaking his head slightly. A tense silence, like an old, familiar blanket, settled over the four siblings until the lights changed and Elijah turned down the same left that Elena had driven down a few moments earlier.

"Alright," Kol was the first to break the awkward silence, in his typically cheerful way. "There can't be that many places for her to go in this god-forsaken town, we just need to figure out which one it is…"

"_If we were to go back to Mystic Falls, what would you do?" _

_Elena shrugged in response, a lazy smile on her face as she enjoyed the feel of Elijah running his fingertips in small patterns on her bare hip. _

"_Perhaps I'd pay a visit to Stefan and Damon," She smirked darkly at him. "They would be so much fun to play with." Elijah's hand flexed on her hip and he chuckled lowly, pulling the naked brunette slightly closer to him. _

"_They certainly would be, imagine all the fun we could have with them." _

_His lips landed on her neck and he nipped and laved at her skin teasingly. She sighed and arched against him as he rolled over her, willing to let the moment continue a moment longer before she reversed their positions and narrowed her eyes at him, pinning his arms beside his head._

"_You didn't let me finish." Elijah quirked an eyebrow and flipped their positions easily. "Please, do tell." She tilted her head at him curiously and shrugged, as much as she could with him holding her wrists. _

"_Isn't it obvious?" She leaves him hanging for a moment as she savours the blank look on his face and smirks at him. The young vampire easily pulled her wrists from his hold – he let her really – and she placed a hand on his cheek, almost lovingly. _

_He often found that his guard was lowered when he was around her, and he paid for it then, as she managed to flip him onto his back and straddle his hips. She pinned his wrists down with her hands and leant towards him, the sharp points of her fangs brushing the column of his throat as she whispered lowly to him. _

"_I would get rid of what they used to turn on my humanity the first time. I would kill Matt Donovan." _

_Elijah tilted his head curiously at the woman above him, she never failed to surprise him. "I could take care of him for you." Her fangs still pressed into his neck for a moment before he felt them rescind and she pulled away to look at him for a short moment. _

"_I suppose we could share him, he is rather tasty." _

_She bit harshly on his neck and Elijah growled, flipping their positions yet again and glowering down at her. His vampire features slowly took the place of his human ones and he glared at her. _

"_It would seem that you still do not know your place, I am older than you, Elena, it'll never be a fair fight between us." His fangs tore into her pale throat and she cried out into the room at his deliberate infliction of pain upon her. _

_After several large gulps of her blood, he pulled his fangs from her throat – none to gently - and laved at the droplets blood around the healing wounds. "You would do well to remember that in the future."_

_The Original moved off of Elena's body, and the bed, and put on a pair of sweatpants, before leaving the room and the bleeding doppelgänger._

The sound of his sister calling his name pulled Elijah from his thoughts ad he shook his head slightly to clear his mind. Ignoring what she had been calling him for, he interrupted her to ask the question plaguing his mind.

"You are close to the Donovan boy, where is he likely to be right now?"

His little sister let out a small gasp and shook her head slightly. "I don't know, probably at The Grill." She faded into silence for a long moment as Elijah began to drive the route towards the Mystic Grill.

"Elijah, you don't think she's planning on…" Rebekah trailed off, unable to voice her thoughts and Elijah met her eyes through the rear-view mirror with a grimace and a slight shake of the head.

"No, I don't think so, sister – I know so."

/\/\/\/\/\/\

_**Whoa, so Elena's off to kill Matty-blue? What do you think of Elena's newest target and of the little flashback in there?**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think, I love hearing from you all!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: You definitely can say that, I sure as hell won't complain! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter so much! **_

_**Kay (Guest): It makes me really happy to hear that you love my story! The Originals definitely have a different approach for Elena's humanity in this chapter, although they are all a bit sceptical about if it will work or not.**_

_**Bulldozed88: Poor Matt indeed, he certainly gets dealt a handful with Elena! **_

_**Caitie-AwesomeHippie: I'm so glad you loved last chapter and I hope you find this one as enjoyable! And, come one, who doesn't love Matty's blue eyes?!**_

_**Sharbour0108: I definitely prefer Elena when her emotions are off, I'm hoping to try and incorporate some of her independence and strength into her normal character as the story progresses because I really do hate how she lets everyone else make decisions for her. She'll probably begin to come across more like the Elena from season two, because I feel like she was by far the best in S2.**_

_**A/N: This chapter is a lot longer than all of the others because I didn't really see the point in splitting it into two! But I'm sure none of you will have any complaints about that! **_

_**Like always, I hope you enjoy and thank you for all the reviews!**_

**ooOoo**

_The sound of his sister calling his name pulled Elijah from his thoughts ad he shook his head slightly to clear his mind. Ignoring what she had been calling him for, he interrupted her to ask the question plaguing his mind._

"_You are close to the Donovan boy, where is he likely to be right now?" _

_His little sister let out a small gasp and shook her head slightly. "I don't know, probably at The Grill." She faded into silence for a long moment as Elijah began to drive the route towards the Mystic Grill._

"_Elijah, you don't think she's planning on…" Rebekah trailed off, unable to voice her thoughts and Elijah met her eyes through the rear-view mirror with a grimace and a slight shake of the head._

"_No, I don't think so, sister – I know so." _

**ooOoo**

It didn't take Elena long to locate Matt in the bizarrely quiet atmosphere of the Grill. Judging by how easily he'd gone outside with Elena, Caroline and the Salvatore's obviously hadn't thought of calling him to tell him about her switch. They either hadn't thought of it, or they just didn't want to alarm Matt. Either way they were stupid.

Elena smirked to herself as Matt followed her out of the safety of the Mystic Grill into the dimly lit alleyway without asking questions. She quickly had him pinned against the wall and smiled at his stunned gasp.

"Elena? What-what are you doing?"

Matt's phone rang just as he finished talking and Elena cocked an eyebrow at him as she reached into his pocket and took the phone. She glanced at the caller ID before looking back up at her child-hood friend.

"It's your girlfriend, Matty. What d'you say? Shall we say hello?"

Matt frowned at her and shook his head slightly. "What are you talking about, Elena? What are you doing?"

She ignored him and frowned as the phone rang off. "Well that isn't very nice, Matty, why are you ignoring your pretty, blonde girlfriend? I say we answer if she calls again, say hello. What do you think?"

Matt didn't get a chance to answer as his phone started ringing, he glanced down at it before he looked back to Elena. She slid the answer bar across and put the mobile on speaker, but didn't say anything, not that she was given a chance.

"_Matt, don't say anything, just listen. Elena's flipped her switch and we think she's coming after you. Don't listen to what she says, Matt, you can't trust her." _

Elena fake winced and whistled lowly. "Ouch, Bekah, that rather hurt my feelings-oh, wait…no I don't have them."

A growl echoed through the phone and Elena smirked at Matt, noticing his blue eyes widen in fear of the woman in front of him.

"I swear to God, Elena-"

"That isn't very nice either, swearing at the man upstairs. Learn some manners, Rebekah!"

The blonde snarled through the phone, making Elena laugh and shake her head slightly at her pathetic antics. Really, she'd been alive for over a thousand years, you would expect her to have grown out of the temper tantrums by now.

"I swear, doppelgänger, if you hurt him-" Rebekah cut off as Elena spoke over her.

"You needn't worry about that, Rebekah," She didn't miss the way that Matt seemed to sag in relief at her words and she trailed her fingers lightly down the side of her face as she continued, "I'm going to do much worse than that."

With that, Elena dropped the phone on the floor and ground it to pieces under her foot. Matt shook his head at her and she could feel him trembling.

"Elena, please, I'm your friend…"

The brunette shook her head sadly and gently framed the side of his face with her hand, the other was resting on the wall beside his head – keeping him trapped.

"I really am sorry, Matty, but I can't have them trying to use you to bring me back again."

Her fangs slowly elongated and the veins under her eyes became visible as she bared her sharp teeth at him. Without any form of teasing or finesse, she sunk her fangs into his jugular and began to gulp down the blonde's rich blood.

**ooOoo**

When the four siblings heard the phone call to Elena and Matt cut off abruptly, Elijah sped the car up even more, leaving a small trail of smoke behind him in his haste to get to them.

Even so, they were nearly too late.

The car glided to a stop at the mouth of the alleyway beside the Grill and the four siblings were out of the car in a flash. Part of the way down the dingy alley, they could see the silhouettes of two people and they flew towards them.

Elena obviously heard them coming because she turned to face them, with a large, bloody grin on her face. The Donovan boy's blood covered her chin and lips and he sagged forward, held there for a moment by her hand on his shoulder before she released him and he fell to the ground in a large bundle of limbs.

"That was tasty."

She wiped a smear of blood from her chin and was suddenly in front of Elijah's little sister, she ran the blood covered finger over the blonde's lips and smirked at her.

"What d'you think, Rebekah?"

Rebekah snarled at the audacity of the girl in front of her and lunged at her.

By the time her siblings managed to pull her from the brunette, Elena was led in a heap on the floor with a broken neck, as well as several other bones snapped.

Elijah let out a low sigh and took the handkerchief from his suit jacket pocket to wipe the blood from around Elena's mouth as he addressed his siblings, without turning to look at them.

"You should probably check on the Donovan boy."

There was a quiet rush of air behind him, signalling that one of his siblings (most likely Rebekah, he thought) had used their speed to get to the injured boy. Elijah ignored whatever they were saying as he gently moved one arm under Elena's back and knees to lift her up. He silently walked back to the car, where he waited for the short time that his younger siblings took care of healing the boy and compelling him to forget the incident.

None of his siblings said a word to him until they reached his house.

**ooOoo**

Elijah quietly opened the door to the basement that he had kept Elena in before, when he had been trying to get her to turn her emotions off. He could almost laugh at the irony of the entire situation, if it wasn't so dire. His siblings had suggested that they bleed some of the human blood from her body and place her in there so that she couldn't run when she woke up, which she had tried.

Elena was asleep and he sighed softly, watching the peaceful innocence that had settled over her in her sleep and once again a wave of regret and self-hatred washed over him for what he had done to her. Elijah gently shut the heavy door behind him and silently walked over to stand in front of Elena. He crouched before her and tore the top of the blood bag he was holding before wafting it under her nose to wake her up.

Her eyelashes fluttered delicately as she slowly woke from her sleep. After Rebekah had attacked her for nearly killing the Donovan boy, and his siblings had bled her (he wasn't too sure what they had done, he'd hardly been keen to stick around and watch, he'd already done his fair share to the poor girl) she'd been significantly weakened and was in need of blood. She looked at him for a moment, confused, before she registered the bag he was holding.

When she didn't take the bag instantly, like he had expected, he gently placed it in her hands and helped her raise it to her lips when it seemed she was struggling. Elena took a few sips from the blood and Elijah released her hands as she regained her strength.

Soon enough, the bag was finished and she watched him curiously for a moment, not saying anything. He smiled at her and nodded towards the door.

"I can get you another if you would like?"

She still didn't reply, merely tilted her head the other way before she let out a small laugh. "You're not very good at this, are you? The whole point of torturing a vampire is to let them starve."

Elijah sighed softly and shook his head slightly at the doppelgänger in front of him.

"I'm not here to torture you, Elena."

She scoffed and shook her head, pulling at chains as she narrowed her eyes at him. "The chains and dingy basement beg to differ, especially considering that you tortured me in here before." He winced and shook his head sadly before reaching out towards the brunette. She stiffened ever so slightly, causing a pang of hurt to tug at his heart.

Elijah didn't touch Elena, instead, he released the shackles that his siblings had secured around her wrists. He caught one of her hands as she went to pull them away and frowned at the burns around her wrists from the vervain-coated chains. After a moment he dropped her hand and rocked back onto his heels to look at her.

"I'm not here to torture you, I just want you to hear me out."

Elijah could feel the curiosity rolling off of her in waves and she raised an inquisitive eyebrow, gesturing silently for him to continue.

"I want you to spend the day with me, Elena. Let me take you out of here, to wherever I want. Just spend the day with me, I'll answer anything you want, _truthfully_," He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair before continuing, "and if, by the time the day is out, you still don't want your emotions back…then I will let you leave and you can do what you want."

Elena's eyebrows shot up and she stared at Elijah in surprise before she narrowed her eyes at him again.

"What's the catch?"

Elijah shook his head instantly. "No catch. I only ask that you don't run from me, that you trust me and that you truly listen to what I say to you." She frowned at him for a moment, head tilted as she considered his offer before she nodded slowly, glancing down at her bloodied and torn clothes.

"Okay, but I need to change before we go, and I think I'll take you up on that offer of a second blood bag."

He breathed out a small sigh of relief and gracefully stood from his crouch, holding out a hand to the woman in front of him in an offer to help her up. She took his hand and let the Original haul her to her feet.

Elijah placed his hand lightly at the small of her back and led her from the room. When they got up to the ground floor his hand curled around her waist gently to stop her and he bent so that his lips brushed her ear.

"You're clothes are in my room, I'll warm up the blood for you."

He felt the small shiver that ran through her body and couldn't resist placing a light kiss on the top of her head before he turned and walked into the kitchen.

His three younger siblings all stared at him silently as he took a bag of AB – Elena's favourite he'd learned – and poured it into a cup before putting it in the microwave and turning it on to heat up the liquid for a moment. Eventually the stifling silence was broken by Rebekah.

"Are you sure this is the right way to go, Elijah?"

He turned to face his sibling and sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I really hope so. I think that this is the best way for Elena, I'm just unsure of whether or not it will work."

The microwave beeped behind him and he quickly turned to open the door and pull the mug from the inside. He kept it in his hands and focused on it studiously as his siblings exchanged glances.

"What happens if this doesn't work?" Elijah looked up at Niklaus and gave him a pathetic attempt at a smile along with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Then I let her leave," Elijah's voice cracked and he cleared his throat before managing to continue, "like I promised her."

His siblings looked at him sympathetically and Kol seemed to be about to speak when Elena walked into the room. She had changed into a pair of faded black shorts that had the appearance of being torn at the bottom. They were paired with an off-the-shoulder white top and a pair of heeled, black boots.

Elijah handed her the mug of blood when she neared him and she threw him a smile as she took it and swallowed it in quick gulps. She lowered the mug from her lips and swept her tongue across them to catch the small drops of blood.

Elijah exchanged glances with his siblings as Elena put the mug in the sink and he shrugged slightly quirking a corner of his lip into a small attempt at a smile.

"Are you ready to go, Elijah?"

He turned back to look at the brunette and nodded, grabbing his car keys from the table (they had taken them from Elena before his siblings had put her in the basement).

"Of course, I'll bring the car around." Elijah quickly left the room, not sparing his siblings another glance. Elena, on the other hand, looked at all three of the vampires in the room with her and shrugged when not one of them said anything before she followed Elijah from the room.

**ooOoo**

"You know, when you said 'let's go out', I didn't think you meant a trek through a bloody forest!"

Elijah smiled to himself and shook his head slightly as Elena complained behind him. Rather than saying anything, he stopped and silently extended a hand to her. She watched him sceptically for a moment before she took his hand.

He tugged her close to his body and let his lips brush the outside of her ear as he whispered to her.

"Hold on."

She barely had time to throw her arms round his neck and grab a hold of him before his arms wrapped around her waist and he whisked them away.

When they stopped moving they stayed locked in their embrace for a moment until Elena slowly took her arms from Elijah's neck, feeling him move once she did. They'd stopped nearer the top of the large gill and Elena could see the light breaking through the trees at the top.

"It is not far now."

Elena huffed at him as he began to walk the rest of the way, but he heard her begin to follow him.

"Why couldn't you just whoosh us up all the way?"

Elijah shrugged and turned to face her, walking backwards as he spoke. "Where's the fun in that? Besides, you're still free to 'whoosh' up there, as you so eloquently put it, myself, on the other hand, well, I'm an old man. I can hardly be 'whooshing' around the place can I?"

She glared at him, eyes narrowed before the corners of her lips quirked and she let out a breathy chuckle. Elijah grinned at her and turned back so that he was walking forwards.

"Who would've guessed that you can actually make a joke?"

"I'll have you know, I am more than capable of making a joke on occasion."

Elijah heard her snort and smiled to himself, looking to the side when she suddenly appeared next to him. After a moment she spoke again.

"You said you'll let me leave, what if I wanted to stay, am I not allowed?"

Elijah shrugged slightly and glanced at the girl to his right, but she was looking straight ahead.

"I don't think I'd be able to handle it, Elena, seeing you every day and knowing that this," He waved a hand towards her, "is all my fault, that I turned you into this."

She seemed taken aback by his honest answer and he saw a spark of emotion flare in her eyes before she shook it off and kept walking.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a few long moments, until they were almost at the top of the hill. Elijah turned back and offered her a hand to help her up the rockier part of the climb. She grabbed it and let the stronger vampire haul her up, as well as using her own strength. But they misjudged and when she pushed at the same time as he pulled, she crashed into him and they fell to the ground (he let them really, they both knew he could've kept them upright). Elena was sprawled over his body, with her chin on his chest as they glanced at each other before they both burst out laughing.

After a long moment, Elena finally rolled off of Elijah and they both stared up at the sky. Elijah gently took hold of Elena's hand and closed his eyes, murmuring a soft instruction for her to do the same.

When, after a short pause, he told her to reopen her eyes, the sky was different. Greens, pinks and yellows mixed with the dark blue sky, all changing and rippling constantly. Elena gasped and gripped Elijah's hand tighter.

"This is incredible." He heard her turn her head so that she was looking at him, but he didn't look over.

"How are you doing this?"

Elijah smiled to himself and finally turned his head to look at her. "It's a memory of mine, of the Northern Lights, I'm merely projecting it into your head."

She smiled softly and turned back to the changing lights, he allowed her a few more moments before he pulled from her mind and they were led back on the grassy hill. He sat up and took her other hand, so that he could pull her to her feet as he stood up.

"There's something else I would like to show you."

Elena nodded, curiosity shining in her eyes and Elijah dropped both of her hands. Instead, he reached up and gently placed his middle and forefinger of both hands on either side of her temple. He closed his eyes again, but was unable to ignore the tenseness of her body and the intense curiosity rolling from her.

"This is more complex than showing you the lights," He murmured softly, "you need to let me in, Elena. Relax."

The tension seemed to melt from her body and Elijah smiled to himself as he slipped into her mind and pulled one of his more recent memories forward.

When he opened his eyes, he knew instantly that they were in the right place and dropped his hands from her temple. Taking hold of one of hers instead. She opened her eyes at his soft touch and tilted her head at him curiously. Elijah smiled back and gently pulled 0n her hand to lead her through the large house.

"_-wrong. I refuse to accept that, your findings are incorrect." _

Elena looked at him curiously, but his eyes remained trained on the route he was leading her down.

"_Elijah, he's not wrong, I looked myself. Elena's-"_

The two invisible observers walked into the room and Elijah heard Elena gasp upon seeing another version of Elijah with his hand around Kol's throat. His vampire features were clearly visible as he snarled at his youngest brother whose feet were a few clear inches away from the floor.

"_Elena is not dead!" _

Elena distantly felt Elijah drop her hand and walk away, but her attention was focused on the scene unfolding before her.

"_Elijah!" _

She turned to face the newcomers to the scene, Rebekah and Klaus, with the former being the one who had yelled.

"_You can't control everything, Elijah. Elena is dead. There's nothing you can do but go and see for yourself, don't take it out on them for being the ones to tell you what you know is the truth!" _

Elijah's hand released Kol's throat and the younger Original fell to his knees, at the sudden release of pressure, and was gasping for air. Elijah turned his back to the four people in the room and Elena could see his body trembling, either with rage or grief – Elena wasn't sure.

"_Get out." _He murmured quietly, voice tight.

"_What's that?" _

Klaus's voice, on the other hand, was light and amused and Elena heard a snarl tear free from Elijah's throat, a split-second before he span to face them.

"_I said: get out! All of you!" _

He roared at his siblings and the hybrid that he had been yelling at originally. His vampires features were fully in display, but Elena could see tears shining in his eyes.

The four immortals waited a beat, frozen with shock, before they all turned and left the room. Elena jumped when she heard something smash behind her and span to see that Elijah had thrown a wooden chair at the wall, it now lay in a mess of broken pieces.

He stared at it in silence for a long moment and Elena watched a lone tear roll down his cheek before a sob tore free and he fell to his knees, more tears rolling from his eyes.

"Do you see now? What thinking I had lost you, that I had missed out on being with you, did to me?"

Elena didn't turn to face the man behind her, instead, she walked forward and crouched in front of the sobbing man. She felt her emotions rattling in their cage and swallowed thickly, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

"_I love you, Elena…"_

At first she thought it was the man behind her, but after a second she realised it was the man in front of her, so overran with grief that he was muttering to himself.

"_Elena, if you're here, I love you. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before…" _

Elijah's voice cracked and Elena felt a tear slip free from her eye. She addressed the man behind her without turning.

"Take me back."

He gently took hold of her hand and, a second later, they were back on the hill, with Elijah's fingers on Elena's head. He had barely drawn them away from her temple before her knees buckled and a sob tore free from her chest as she fell to the ground. Elijah followed her down and encased the shuddering girl in his arms as she wept.

**ooOoo**

_**Elena's back! **_

_**What did you think of Elijah's method of returning her humanity? Did you like the memory of Elijah? Please, please, please review and tell me what you thought, you guys make my day!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Thank you to everyone for all the reviews on my last chapter, it seems to be that you all enjoyed my method of bringing Elena's emotions back and that makes me insanely happy. **_

_**Sharbour0108: I'm so glad you loved the chapter and that you think I did a good job with getting her emotions back. I really don't like soppy characters who always feel like they need someone else to solve their problems. It will be a little rocky with her emotions suddenly being back and her realising everything that she has done for a couple chapters before she will start noticeably evolving into the stronger character. And you're most definitely welcome!**_

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm really glad that you thought that Elijah's memory was sweet and touching and that you enjoyed the chapter as a whole. **_

_**Caitie-AwesomeHippie: I'm glad you liked the method I used to bring Elena's humanity back. Of course I didn't let Matty die! I'm not that cruel! That is such a sweet thing to say, it makes me so insanely happy that you feel that my writing is amazing. I'm not often overly impressed with what I write and it makes me really happy that you feel it's amazing. **_

_**Guest: It's great to hear that you loved it. To be honest, I'm not too sure where I got the idea for using his memories to bring Elena back… I'm glad you liked it and that she was able to see how broken he was. **_

_**Siberia21: Whoa! I never imagined that anyone would enjoy my idea for Elena's regaining her emotions. I'm happy that the entire thing came off well and that you loved the chapter. You're welcome!**_

_**Kay (Guest): Aww, I'm glad you feel that way. I never would have used torture to try and bring her back, I think that is the worst possible thing that anyone could have done to try and get someone to flip their switch back, it'd probably only lead to resentment and negativity if they did turn it back on. Elejah will most likely get a happy ending at some point in the near future if I can manage to stop myself from unintentionally adding more plot than I already have! **_

_**Rising Phoenix-82 (Chapter 4): To be honest, at that point, I probably would have been a little more scared of Elijah than of Klaus! Of course I wasn't going to leave him like that! **_

_**Rising Phoenix-82 (Chapter 8): Caroline and Klaus are brilliant together, but I (unfortunately) doubt that they will ever end up together on the show, just like I sadly doubt Elena and Elijah will ever happen. There definitely are similarities in the two relationships and I think that the two girls definitely are the Originals' redemption. I'm not sure if Caroline will play a bigger part in this, but if she does she will most likely end up with Klaus.**_

**ooOoo**

"_Elena, if you're here, I love you. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before…" _

_Elijah's voice cracked and Elena felt a tear slip free from her eye. She addressed the man behind her without turning. _

"_Take me back." _

_He gently took hold of her hand and, a second later, they were back on the hill, with Elijah's fingers on Elena's head. He had barely drawn them away from her temple before her knees buckled and a sob tore free from her chest as she fell to the ground. Elijah followed her down and encased the shuddering girl in his arms as she wept._

**ooOoo**

Elijah gently rocked Elena in his arms as she cried, one of his hands moved in soothing circles on her back and the other held the back of her head – anchoring her body to his. There was a tree a little way behind him and Elijah picked her up as he stood and moved so that his back was against the trunk. He slid down the rough bark, to sit on the dirty ground, and placed Elena on his lap.

For the first time since Elijah had pulled them from his memory, she moved herself; turning her body so that she was facing him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She turned her face into his neck and he could feel her tears soaking the skin there, as well as the collar of his shirt. Elijah's fingers combed through her long hair soothingly as they sat in silence, save for the sounds of her cries.

Eventually, the flow of tears slowed and the broken sobs coming from the girl on Elijah's lap were quieter. He continued to run a hand through her brunette locks in an attempt to calm her raging emotions as she realised everything she had done when she had been without her humanity.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Elijah."

Elena's voice was broken whisper that tore Elijah's heart in two and he gently laid a kiss on the top of her head.

"It's okay, none of this is your fault, Elena."

Elena shook her head and burrowed further into his chest. Her hands moved down from his neck and fisted in the lapels of his jacket as she attempted to meld herself to him even more. Elijah's arms tightened around her and he pulled her tighter against his body, trying to provide the comfort she was looking for.

"I killed Matt. I-I…oh my God, I killed my best friend!"

Her voice broke and she broke out in a fresh wave of tears causing Elijah to wince and take a deep breath as he felt tears welling in his eyes at the broken girl before him. After several deep breaths, Elijah was relatively sure he could talk without his voice breaking and he gently kissed the top of Elena's head before he did.

"You didn't kill him, Elena. Matt's alive, your best friend is alive, he's okay."

Elena froze and slowly pulled away from his chest (his arms loosening to accommodate her movement) and she looked at him, eyes tearful and wide. Her expression was open and distraught and it was the most vulnerable Elijah had ever seen her. She looked like a lost, little girl.

"You promise?" She breathed, looking him directly in the eyes. Elijah's eyes flicked over her face for a moment before he nodded, his hand moving from the back of her head to brush a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I give you my word, my lovely Elena, your friend is alive."

Elena nodded slowly in acceptance and let her forehead fall back onto Elijah's shoulder as her arms wrapped tightly around his middle. There was a moment of silence, during which Elijah's hand began to slowly move through her hair again without any conscious thought to do so.

"Can you take me home?"

Elijah swore he felt his heart stop when her quiet murmur cut through the silence that had surrounded them. Of course she wanted to go home, back to her friends. It had never been her choice to leave with him in the first place. He had kidnapped her and for some ridiculous reason he thought she may actually have wanted to stay with him for a while.

He nodded stiffly and gently hooked an arm under her knees, keeping the other under her back. "Of course, if that's what you want."

When he stood, Elena wrapped her arms around his neck and clung onto him. Elijah glanced down at her, shocked to see silent tears still streaming down her face. Her eyes were closed and she rested the side of her head against his chest.

"Take me to your home."

For a moment, Elijah was sure he had heard her wrong. She actually wanted to go back with him?

"Please, Elijah…"

When he looked down at the woman in his arms, her eyes were still closed and her face was turned into his chest. But he could still see the torment and despair clearly written across her features and it broke him in two.

"Of course." He had to stop speaking before his voice broke, but he didn't think that Elena noticed as he saw one corner of her lips quirk in a weak attempt at a smile. When he reached his car, Elena was barely awake, her eyes had slipped closed and her ragged breathing had evened out, as had her quiet heartbeat.

He gently shifted her body so that he could open the passenger side door, shushing her when she let out a low whine and squirmed in his arms. She stilled almost instantly and Elijah gently placed her in the seat, strapping her in and softly closing the door.

Elijah slid into the driver's seat and started the car. He turned down the radio (Elena had turned it all the way up when they had left) and put a softer, classical disc into the player.

By the time Elijah pulled up outside his house, Elena had cried herself to sleep and Elijah had been forced to wipe away several tears that had escaped his eyes as he had been forced to listen to her heartbroken sobs.

When he turned off the ignition, he sat in his seat in silence for several m0ments as he gathered his thoughts before he exited the car and gently lifted the sleeping doppelgänger from the seat and carried her towards the house.

The door opened before he got there and Elijah was faced with Kol and Niklaus. They smiled at him sadly and stood back from the doorway so that Elijah could enter with the sleeping girl.

"Where's Rebekah?" Elijah whispered, not wanting to wake Elena. Niklaus shrugged slightly as he shut the door.

"She left a while ago, to check on the Donovan boy." Niklaus was also whispering and Elijah nodded, heading for the staircase to put Elena to bed upstairs. Elijah hesitated before he put her into one of the guest rooms, tucking her into the bed. He quietly closed the door behind him, the only sound that escaped was a small click.

His siblings were in the lounge when he descended the staircase without a sound and Kol held out a tumbler of whisky without a sound. Elijah took it gratefully and downed the drink in one. His younger siblings chuckled as he sank onto the couch, silently holding out the glass for a refill, which Kol easily provided.

"That bad, brother?"

Elijah nodded in response to Niklaus's question and took another sip of whisky – smaller that time.

"I have never seen anyone so broken. When she…when she realised what she has done..." Elijah trailed off, unable to continue and he shook his head slightly before taking another sip of the whisky.

"I-I don't know what to do." He shook his head softly. "I wish to help her, but I do not know how." Elijah toyed with the glass in his hand, refusing to look up at his siblings. "She's always been so strong, never letting anyone see what gets to her, I just don't know what to do when she is like this."

"Just be there for her."

Elijah looked up at the sound of his little sister's voice. She was leant against the doorframe with her arms folded over her chest.

"Don't smother her, but let her know you're there for anything she needs. She needs to know that you care about her."

Elijah looked back at his drink and sighed softly as he toyed with the glassware in his hand. Rebekah was about to say more when they heard a soft creak from above them. Their eyes flicked to the ceiling and Elijah let out a soft breath and put his drink on the cabinet beside his armchair as he stood from his chair and walked into the kitchen.

He quickly prepared a small glass of blood and a glass of water before he put them on a tray and took them upstairs. Elena wasn't in his room when he went up and he frowned for a second before he caught her scent and followed it to one of his spare rooms.

Elena's breathing was laboured and laced with sobs that travelled through the door, even without his vampire hearing. Elijah gently rapped on the wood with his knuckles and heard Elena's sobs cut off abruptly as she heard the sound. But she didn't say anything.

"Elena? Are you okay?"

She didn't respond, save the sound of her cries resuming. Elijah tried the doorknob, cursing almost silently under his breath when he realised it was locked. He bent and put the tray on the floor, to the side of his feet, before standing up again. Elijah let his forehead fall forward onto the cold wood of the door and he closed his eyes.

"Elena? Please…let me in…"

He tried the door knob once more before sighing softly when she didn't respond and bringing his other hand up to rest on the other side of the doorway.

"Okay…There's a drink outside; some blood and some water. Let me know if you need anything, or if you just…if you just want to talk. Okay?"

There was a muffled noise of agreement from behind the door and he sighed again. Elijah opened his eyes and moved the tray of drinks in front of the door. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked back down the corridor. Rather than re-joining his siblings downstairs, he went into his room and shut the door behind him with a soft click. His siblings never went up to talk to him that night, instead, leaving him to his own thoughts.

**ooOoo**

Come morning, Elijah hadn't left his room. He'd spent the entire night trying to think of a way he could possibly help Elena with what she was going through. Elijah hadn't gotten a moment of sleep the entire time he had been in there, he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before either and he was beginning to feel the effects of his lack of sleep. He smothered a small yawn with the back of his hand and shook his head slightly to try and shake off the cloud of drowsiness that was encompassing his mind.

A knock at his door pulled him from his thoughts and he sighed softly. "Come in." The door swung open to reveal a smiling Rebekah holding a mug.

"I thought you'd probably need some of this, I expect you're exhausted."

It was then that Elijah picked up on the smell of tea with a slightly underlying scent of blood. Elijah quirked an eyebrow as he took the china from his sister with a grateful smile.

"I added a drop of blood, figured you could do with the extra hit."

He smiled as his sister sat next to him on the edge of his bed and he took a small sip of the drink. The caffeine and blood in the drink allowed him to shake off the exhaustion covering his mind and he let out another sigh. Rebekah smiled at him and let out a quiet chuckle.

"How is…" Elijah paused for a moment as he searched for the right name. "Matt. How is Matt?"

Rebekah shrugged slightly. "Healed. He lost so much blood that there wasn't any vervain in his system, so I compelled him to forget the entire thing and to stay home for the next three days thinking he has the flu."

Elijah smiled sadly and gently placed an arm around her shoulder (cautiously so as not to spill his drink) and pulled her into a one armed hug, rubbing her shoulder softly.

"I am sorry, I know you care for him."

Rebekah shrugged, a small, weak movement of her shoulders as a small sigh escaped her and she continued looking straight ahead – avoiding Elijah's gaze. "It's not like anything can come from it anyway. Nik's likely to kill anyone I care about that isn't you, Kol or himself, and I doubt Matt will want to become a vampire." She sniffled slightly before lightly slapping the hand that rested on her shoulder and turning to face him.

"Anyway, that's enough about my failure of a love life. How are you doing?" Elijah shrugged slightly, slipping his arm from around her shoulders and taking another sip of his tea.

"I would imagine that I am as well as can be expected, sister. I'm more concerned for Elena's well-being."

Rebekah sighed softly and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she shook her head softly. "I went and checked; she took the glass of water that you left, but not the blood. I've already taken it away and washed it out," she crinkled her nose, "it was starting to go off anyway."

Elijah nodded slowly and smiled at her. "Thank you, sister." He took another large swallow from his drink and stood from his bed, exhaling as he did.

"I should go and see how she is. I'll be downstairs in a moment."

Rebekah nodded standing from the bed and giving him a quick hug before they left the room, she turned and went down the staircase, whilst Elijah turned to his right and continued down the corridor to the room that Elena had situated herself in the day before.

Aside from Elena's quiet breathing, there was no noise coming from the room. Elijah softly tapped his knuckles on the door and waited to see if she would respond.

"Elena, it's Elijah. How are you feeling?" There was still no response to his quiet voice and he focused his hearing onto her. Her heartbeat was soft and steady, like it was when she was asleep.

He smiled at the door sadly and turned away from her door to join his siblings downstairs. They were gathered in the lounge and Elijah gave them a small smile as he walked through to the kitchen. Once there, he finished off his tea and rinsed the china out before he placed it in the dishwasher.

Only then did he head back through to join his younger siblings in the lounge. Niklaus smiled at him. "How's she doing?" Elijah smiled back softly and shrugged slightly as he gracefully sat on one of the armchairs.

"She's asleep, for now."

Niklaus nodded at him and shrugged slightly. "Give her some time, you only came around so fast because you had to help her. She doesn't have anyone that she needs to help right now."

Elijah nodded slowly and stood from his chair, he paced the width of the room several times and rubbed his hands over his face as he groaned.

"I hate this!"

Rebekah's touch on his shoulder was soft and he shrugged her off as he felt tears beginning to well in his eyes. He put his hands over his face in an attempt to hide them and shook his head.

"I hate this. I hate feeling so useless."

It was quieter that time, more resigned and he didn't shake his sister's touch as he felt the first droplet of salty water land on the palm of his hand. Rebekah pulled him into a hug, her hands rubbed his back softly, but he remained stiff and unmoving in her hold.

"I know you do, but it'll be okay. It'll all work out fine."

Elijah slowly moved his hands away from his face and slipped them around his little sister's back as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He felt another tear slide free and onto his sister's shoulder.

**ooOoo**

_**So, I feel like I have made Elijah a little soppy and emotional in this chapter :/ Please tell me if you feel like he's a little too OC and I'll try and put him back into character a bit more in the next chapters. **_

_**Why do you think that Elena's hiding away? Why is Elijah so upset about the whole thing? **_

_**Please, please review and tell me what you thought, it makes my day to hear so many nice things from all of you! **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Thank you to my reviewers! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Kay (Guest): I'm glad you lied the chapter! I wasn't sure about how I wrote Elijah, but it makes me really happy that you feel I haven't overdone his emotions.**_

_**Siberia21: I've been trying to figure out where you feel like you've missed something and I'm not too sure… If you feel like something should be added in, please do tell me and I'll do my best to either explain the confusion away or add the scene. I'm really glad that you feel that Elijah isn't too OOC with his emotions and that you like how they suddenly dawned on him. I had some difficulty with the first scene so it makes me really pleased that you felt it went really well. You are very welcome for the long chapter **___

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: It makes me really happy that you felt I blended every emotion well and I will try to keep up! **_

**ooOoo**

"_I hate this. I hate feeling so useless." _

_It was quieter that time, more resigned and he didn't shake his sister's touch as he felt the first droplet of salty water land on the palm of his hand. Rebekah pulled him into a hug, her hands rubbed his back softly, but he remained stiff and unmoving in her hold. _

"_I know you do, but it'll be okay. It'll all work out fine." _

_Elijah slowly moved his hands away from his face and slipped them around his little sister's back as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He felt another tear slide free and onto his sister's shoulder. _

**ooOoo**

Three days later, Elena still hadn't left the room she had locked herself in. Each day, Elijah had gone up and left her a glass of blood and a glass of water outside her door. But, every day, she would only take the water, and the blood would be left behind.

Elijah's siblings had kept a close eye on him over the three days that Elena had refused to speak to anyone. They were concerned that Elena's hiding away from him would make his recently regained emotions run wild and make it harder for him to gain control over them. Despite their concerns, Elijah seemed to have gained control over the majority of his emotions, aside from his anxiety.

Rebekah had spent three days hitting various appendages to get him to stop the annoying habits he had picked up. His nails were bitten down to the beds and he kept tapping his fingertips against the arms of his chair, or his feet against the floor.

"Elijah!"

Rebekah slapped his shoulder as she yelled at him and she glared at him when he looked around at her. "Stop tapping that _goddamned_ _chair!"_

Elijah glanced at his hand and moved it into his lap, fiddling with his other hand to stop him from tapping the chair again. "Forgive me, sister."

She had just opened her mouth to reply when Kol bounded back into the room and vaulted over the back of the couch to sit on the cushions, ignoring his sisters glare as he landed next to her.

"She still won't open her door, or talk to me." He pouted, resulting in scoffs from Niklaus and Rebekah.

"Why on earth would she talk to you? Even if she hadn't only just regained her emotions, the last time you two met she staked you for trying to kill her brother." Niklaus's tone was colored with amusement and he raised his eyebrows at his younger brother, who glared back at him.

"She hardly likes you any better."

Klaus rolled his eyes at his little brothers comment while Rebekah scoffed and Elijah felt a small, amused smiled tugging at his lips at their banter. He knew it was probably partly intended to try and relax him, but he found their petty argument amusing all the same.

"At least I can accept that there's a very slim chance she'll actually ever talk to me, let alone us become friends of some sort."

"Yes, Kol, why are you so insistent on becoming friends with the little wench? She staked you."

Elijah glanced at his sister reproachfully, but didn't say anything as they all waited for Kol's answer. His little brother shrugged in reply and grinned at Rebekah. "Why not? Elijah's obviously smitten with her, so she isn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. Might as well get along with her."

"That's only if she ever wishes to be near me again." Elijah sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't blame her if she never wished to see me again, let alone be with me."

"Will you stop that?"

Elijah looked at Niklaus tiredly and shrugged slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Stop what, brother?" Niklaus glared at him and locked his phone, throwing it down beside him and sitting up straight on the couch.

"Stop this ridiculous…" He stopped, waving his hands about as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

"Ridiculously soppy, heartbroken attitude?"

Klaus glanced at Kol for a brief moment and nodded quickly. "Yes, that works." He sighed softly and turned his attention back to his older brother. "Stop with this ridiculously soppy, heartbroken attitude and bloody well make her listen to you!"

Elijah opened his mouth to protest, frowning when his brother shook his head instantly and held up a hand for him to stop with what he had been about to say. "No, don't you even start. Just because she won't talk to you, doesn't mean you can't talk to her."

Elijah let out a quiet sigh and shook his head slightly. "She's locked herself in the room. I have to respect her wishes to be left alone."

"And you have, for three and a half days now. Surely that's enough time for her to have wrapped her head around this whole thing." It was Rebekah's turn to speak before someone else and Elijah wearily turned his attention to her, shaking his head slightly.

"Don't give us that."

Elijah huffed at being interrupted when he had been about to speak – again – and turned to face his youngest brother with a slight glare in place.

"We're hardly telling you to break the blimmen door down, just go up there and talk to her!"

Kol jumped up from his seat on the couch and gestured to Rebekah and Niklaus. "Come on, let's go out for a bit and let Elijah talk to her, we need to get more blood bags anyway. Nik had the last one earlier." Surprisingly, they both stood up and followed Kol from the room, Niklaus rolling his eyes at Kol's statement. Rebekah moved to stand beside him for a moment and squeezed his shoulder.

"She needs you, Lijah. Just go and talk to her."

Elijah laid his hand over his sister's and squeezed, smiling at her softly and nodding slowly. She gave his shoulder one more squeeze before she followed her brothers from the room. Elijah heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of three car doors opening and closing. The car's engine revved and the car was driven away shortly after.

Elijah sighed again and ran a hand through his hair before standing from his chair and moving into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He took the glass and coolly made his way upstairs, keeping an outwardly calm appearance as he went up to see Elena.

As he expected, the glass of blood was still outside, but as was the water. That in itself was unusual, Elena always took the water from the tray, which was why he had taken a fresh glass up with him. He put the fresh glass to the side and moved the tray out of the way. Elijah gently knocked on the door, a frown marring his features.

"Elena? Are you okay?"

She didn't reply – nothing unusual – and he let his forehead fall against the cool wood. "Please talk to me…"

Again she didn't say anything and he sighed sadly before he turned, so that his back was against the door, and he slid down it to sit on the floor.

"Elena, I understand how you must be feeling right now, and I understand that you…that you must hate me, but, please, talk to me. I have been through this, I only want to help you."

There was still no response from her and Elijah let his head fall back against the door. He frowned to himself and focussed his hearing on her room. Elena's breathing was slow and almost non-existent, her heartbeat (which should have been only a touch slower that a humans) was almost stopped completely. It was only then that Elijah caught the faint smell of drying blood under the large quantity of perfume she had sprayed.

He shot to his feet and turned back to face the door. His fist came down on it in quick succession. "Elena? Elena, open the door!"

There was a soft moan from inside the room and he was just able to make out the sound of her voice attempting to say his name. Elijah twisted the doorknob, clenching his jaw when it refused to turn and open the door. He gave it a sharp twist, hearing the lock snap, and he opened the door.

Elena was led on the bed, her eyes closed and one arm hanging off the edge somewhat. Her skin was deathly pale and was beginning to take on a greyish tinge. Brown locks of hair were strewn about and he could see what appeared to be a razor blade on the mattress – the source of the blood.

"Christ, Elena…"

He was by her side instantly and gently brushed some of the stray hairs behind her ear. She let out a quiet noise and turned her head away from him ever so slightly. Elijah cupped her cheek with his palm and softly turned her to face him.

His eyes searched her face and he frowned down at her. Initially, he thought about running downstairs to get her a blood bag before he remembered that his younger siblings had gone to get some. Elijah cursed under his breath and pulled his phone from his back pocket. He quickly called his sister, still frowning down at the girl in front of him.

"_Elijah? What's up? Is she still ignoring you?" _

He grimaced at his sister's question and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Not exactly. How long is it going to take to get the blood and get back here?"

"_About an hour and a half, give or take some. Why?" _

Elijah could hear the confusion in her voice and he sighed as he gently brushed another piece of hair behind Elena's ear. "Elena needs it. She's bled herself near dry." He heard one of his brother's let out a low whistle and sighed softly.

"Jesus. We'll be as fast as we can."

"Thank you, sister."

Elijah hung up the phone and put it on the table beside the bed. He took the razor blade from beside Elena and threw it away before running a bowl of lukewarm water and taking a wash cloth from the cupboard.

Elijah placed the bowl on the table and dipped the cloth in. He wrung it out and moved the sheet off of Elena's body. Dry and flaky blood covered her forearms and there were even streaks of her blood on her upper arms. He gently took her wrist in his hand and lifted her arm before trailing the damp cloth over her arm to wash the blood away.

When he dipped the rag back into the bowl of water, he could feel anger boiling in the pit of his stomach as he saw the red swirls of blood in the water. His jaw clenched and it took everything inside of him for him to relax his hands so that he wouldn't hurt the brunette in front of him.

As he cleansed her arms, he debated the pros and cons of giving Elena his blood to heal and replenish the blood she had lost faster. If he gave her some of his blood, she would heal a lot quicker than if he waited for the human blood. But, if she were to take his blood, especially having so little in her, it could have any number of negative effects on her.

Elijah sighed and dipped the cloth back into the water as he softly placed her – now clean – arm back on the bed. He moved onto her other arm and began slowly cleaning it off.

Once he was done, he went out into the hall and grabbed some fresh sheets from the cupboard. He gently picked Elena up and placed her on the chair in the corner as he quickly stripped the linen from the bed and re-made it before delicately placing Elena back on the bed and pulling the covers over her small frame.

Elijah took one of her hands in both of his and gently kissed her knuckles – decided that he would have to wait for his siblings to return because he really had no way of knowing what effects his blood would have on the woman in front of him.

The whole process had taken him a little over half an hour and he sighed softly as he placed her hand back on the bed before standing and checking the glass of blood outside her room. It had begun to go off and Elijah wrinkled his nose in slight disgust before he took it down to the kitchen and poured it down the drain, rinsing and washing the glass once he was done.

As he waited for his siblings' arrival, he busied himself with tidying up the messes they had left behind. By the time he was done with the task (at human speed, so as to waste more time) he had managed to spend a little under forty-five minutes. It was around ten minutes later that he heard his siblings arrive in the car they had taken.

Elijah was at the front door and had it opened instantly. Kol appeared by his side in the next second and he handed him two bags of blood. The older brother took them with a grateful smile before disappearing and reappearing by Elena's bedside.

As he tore the top from the bag of blood, the door to the bedroom opened and his siblings looked at the scene before them from the doorway.

"You weren't kidding, she looks terrible."

He shrugged sadly. "She looked a lot worse when I found her."

Elijah gently lifted Elena's head and touched the bag of blood to her lips. The coppery fluid slowly flowed into her lips as she automatically opened them to allow the liquid into her mouth. Elena's body slowly regained her color as she drank the blood and a quiet noise escaped her throat as she continued to drink. The Original sighed softly to himself as he continued to slowly feed the blood in the bag to Elena.

Kol ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in disbelief. "I've never seen a vampire have such a hard time after regaining their emotions."

Klaus sighed. "There has to be something wrong, there's no way this is natural."

As he finished speaking Elena let out a quiet moan as she finished off the first blood bag. Elijah quickly tore the top off of the second and placed it on her lips before turning to his siblings.

"Do you think you could give us some time to talk?" The three siblings nodded instantly and turned to leave the room. Rebekah hesitated, looking back at her brother for a moment before she looked back around and left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Elijah listened to her quiet footsteps go down the stairs and into the lounge with their brothers. He heard their conversation begin and they instantly started debating what was wrong with Elena.

Elena made a quiet noise and Elijah turned back to her as she drank the last of the blood and her eyes slowly opened. Elijah was still holding her head up slightly and he gently laid her back on the bed as she finally focussed on him.

"Elijah?"

**ooOoo**

_**What do you think is happening with Elena? Why is she having such a hard time getting back to normal? What do you think Elijah will say to her?**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm so glad you thought that last chapter was so good. There will be a long Elijah/Elena conversation at some point where some of their feeling will be made clear. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations for this story.**_

_**Kay (Guest): You're welcome! There will be several pep talks taking place between Elena, Elijah and his siblings. Elena is definitely overwhelmed with guilt at the moment and really doesn't know how to handle it. Elejah are being hit with a very rough patch at the moment and there will be several serious scenes between them before things get cleared up properly.**_

_**Bulldozed88: I love that theory and I think it would make for a brilliant idea in another story! But Elena leaving the blood was definitely by her own choice in this story. I'm happy you loved it!**_

_**Siberia21: It's okay, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't feel like I had missed out something really important! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter. The Elejah conversation isn't all that detailed in this, but there will be longer conversation between them to come!**_

**ooOoo**

"_Do you think you could give us some time to talk?" The three siblings nodded instantly and turned to leave the room. Rebekah hesitated, looking back at her brother for a moment before she looked back around and left the room, softly closing the door behind her. _

_Elijah listened to her quiet footsteps go down the stairs and into the lounge with their brothers. He heard their conversation begin and they instantly started debating what was wrong with Elena. _

_Elena made a quiet noise and Elijah turned back to her as she drank the last of the blood and her eyes slowly opened. Elijah was still holding her head up slightly and he gently laid her back on the bed as she finally focussed on him. _

"_Elijah?"_

**ooOoo**

"Elena." Elijah nodded slightly before continuing to speak. "How do you feel?"

Elena frowned at his neutral tone, it had been a very long time since he had been so dispassionate towards her and she wasn't sure what to think. So she shrugged slightly and sighed softly.

"Tired and my-my head hurts."

Elijah scoffed quietly and shook his head. "I'm hardly surprised. What did you expect after you bled yourself dry?"

Elena turned her gaze from him and stared at her bedspread silently. After a moment she slowly began to sit herself up, jumping in shock when she felt Elijah's soft, but firm, hands gently help sit up and back – against the headboard. She turned to face him and smiled softly.

"Thank you."

Elijah softly quirked one corner of his lips before taking has hands away and settling back in the chair he had moved over and fiddling with his nails.

There was an awkward moment of silence, when neither of them knew what to say, before Elena spoke up.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't mean to upset me?" Elijah scoffed incredulously and shook his head, waving his hands wildly. "What the hell did you expect to happen, Elena?" He yelled at her and Elena flinched softly, taking notice of her reaction Elijah softened his tone ever so slightly – until he wasn't yelling anymore, but he still wasn't exactly quiet.

"You know how I feel about you, Elena! What did you expect me to do when I found you?"

Elena looked away from him again and began to pick at the skin around her nails guiltily. Elijah sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair as he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He moved and sat beside her on the bed, gently drawing her into a hug.

"Forgive me, Elena, I did not mean to yell."

Elijah cursed internally. He realised how sensitive she must be and a wave of self-loathing washed over him for hurting her feelings. The Original rubbed her shoulder softly and sighed to himself as Elena curled into his side, sobbing softly.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry, Elijah. I didn't-I-I'm sorry."

"Shhh…"

Elijah rocked Elena gently from side to side as he tried to calm her down. Her newly returned emotions were raging out of control and she didn't have a handle on them yet. She'd let them build up inside of her for days and being forced to confront them finally was wreaking havoc with her mind.

Elena was being completely overwhelmed.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. It wasn't my intent to upset you."

Elijah slowly rubbed Elena's back as he gently placed her in his lap – her legs over his and her face buried in his chest. Elena buried her face in her hands and shook her head slightly as she took a deep breath.

"It's not your fault."

Her words were muffled by her palms and Elijah's brow furrowed slightly as he watched her in confusion.

"It's mine. Because I can't stop bloody crying!" Her voice steadily rose until she was yelling and Elijah watched her sadly as she shot from his lap and stood beside the bed. Tears were still streaming down her face and the skin around her ayes was red and puffy from her crying.

"Why can't I stop crying?"

Elena was still yelling and her sharp eyes spotted the glass on the table beside her bed. It smashed and shattered upon its impact with the far wall. Elijah winced softly at the loud noise and the subsequent tinkling of glass on the wooden floorboards. The brunette cried out in anger and flipped the chair beside her.

Elena went to march through the doorway, but Elijah's firm arms wrapped around her waist and held her in place. She thrashed and squirmed in his arms, screaming for him to let her go. The hysterical vampire ranted and raved and shrieked that she didn't need his help; that she didn't deserve his help; that she wasn't good enough.

After a few moments, Elijah quickly turned her in his arms and held her firmly against him – one hand buried in her hair and the other between her shoulder blades. Her screaming gradually slowed as she dissolved into sobs again and Elijah rested his chin on the crown of her head. Feeling tears sting at his own eyes, he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath through his nose (determined not to fall apart; she needed him).

Eventually, Elena's sobs quieted and she stopped trying to pull away from him. Instead, she collapsed against his body, her arms loosely wrapped around his waist as her knees buckled. Elijah was the only thing keeping her from falling to the floor. Rather than moving the two of them back onto the bed, Elijah slowly sank to the floor with Elena still in his arms and cradled her trembling body against him.

His fingers were still threaded in her hair and she sighed softly as she slowly calmed down – her returning emotions were running rampant; swinging her from distraught and hysterical to calm and composed, he knew because he'd only just gone through the same himself. Elijah felt her trying to pull away from him again, but this time, with a gentle touch of his lips to her forehead, he let her.

Elena didn't move far, just enough to side beside him instead of on his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed softly. Elijah wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders and his cheek rested on the crown of her head.

"How long has it been?"

Elijah didn't need to inquire what she was asking abut and he sighed softly. "It's been nearly four days since you regained your emotions."

Elena sighed again and nestled closer to him, Elijah's arm automatically tightening around her shoulders as she moved. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Why did you do it, Elena? I could have helped you."

"I don't deserve to be helped."

Elijah didn't say anything for a long moment after Elena's blunt confession, merely sat beside her silently, as he tried to figure out what he could possibly say to that. He took his cheek from the top of Elena's head and sighed softly.

"You really believe that, don't you?"

Elena shrugged. Her head still rested on his shoulder as she replied. "Why wouldn't I believe it? I'm a horrible person, Elijah."

"Don't say that." Elijah breathed. He pulled his shoulder out from under Elena's head and took his arm from around Elena's shoulders before gently cupping her cheek, forcing her to turn and face him. Her cheeks were damp, but her eyes were dry and hard.

"Why not?" She shrugged again. "It's the truth."

A muscle in Elijah's jaw ticked and he glared at her. "That could not be further from the truth, Elena and you know it!"

She stared at him silently, her expression devoid of any emotion and quirked an eyebrow. "It hardly matters why I did it. It's not like I actually died."

"The only reason you aren't dead right now is because you can't die! If you could die you _would_ _be_ _dead!"_

Elena rolled her eyes and stood up, letting Elijah's hand fall from her face.

"Then maybe you should just kill me already."

With that she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Elijah stared at the door in silence for a moment before gracefully standing from where he was sat and following after Elena.

She was in the back yard when he finally got to her (Klaus and Rebekah had intervened to talk to him when he had gotten down the staircase and had managed to buy her a few minutes). Her back was resting against a tree trunk and she was picking petals off of one of the daisies from the lawn. Kol was sat beside her.

As Elijah watched, Elena slowly moved and let her head fall onto Kol's shoulder as a tear rolled down her cheek. His little brother brought up a hand and stroked his fingers through her hair, and, surprisingly, Elena let him. Despite the fact that he could see Elena's lips moving, her voice was so quiet that he couldn't hear a word she was saying.

"He's doing a good job with her."

Niklaus's voice startled Elijah from his thoughts and he blinked before addressing his brother, without turning around. "Why?" He could feel his little brother's confusion rolling off of him in waves and swallowed thickly. "Why does she listen to him and not to me?"

Klaus shrugged as he moved to stand beside Elijah, rather than next to him. "He doesn't know her like we do. She knows that he doesn't expect anything from her." The hybrid heaved an almighty sigh and clapped his older brother on the shoulder. "Besides, our little brother seems to have quite the way with words today."

Klaus turned away from Elijah and walked back inside the house. Elijah watched Kol and Elena for another moment, debating whether or not to see it was worth going over there, before he sighed and turned to follow his brother inside.

~~~O~~~

When Elena stormed away from Elijah, she marched down the staircase and into the kitchen. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and slammed it onto the counter.

"What'd that mug ever do to you?"

Elena huffed and turned on the tap so that she could fill her mug with water. She took a large mouthful before finally answering him.

"Go away, Kol."

The Original pouted as Elena turned to face him, still clasping the china tightly in her hands – close to breaking it then and there.

"Come on, darling, will you at least listen to what I have to say to you? I happen to have a unique perspective on this particular matter."

Kol held a hand out to Elena and she eyed him for a moment before scoffing softly and setting her mug on the counter top.

"Yeah, whatever."

She brushed past him and into the back yard, leaving the door open in a silent invitation for him to follow her. He did and shut the door behind him. Elena wandered to the back of the yard, until she was by the large oak tree in the back corner. She trailed her fingertips over the rough bark as Kol stopped a few feet away.

"Isn't it funny, how I feel more comfortable around you than I do around Elijah right now?"

She crouched by the base of the tree and let her fingers trail along the grass, to test how dry it was, before she sat on the ground – her back against the trunk. Kol sighed softly and sat beside her.

"No. Elijah knows everything you've done, but he also knows who you were before all of this. You feel like he'll expect that from you again and you know I won't. You know there aren't any strong emotions on my side and that I'm not biased. You're comfortable around me because you know I'll tell you the truth and not what I think you want to hear."

Elena let out a soft sigh and plucked a daisy from the ground. She began to slowly pull of the petals. "Go on then, tell me the truth. Am I horrible person?"

"I'll tell you the truth, but you have to promise not to interrupt."

Elena smiled softly to herself at his negotiation and nodded as she continued plucking petals from the daisy in her fingers. "Okay, I won't interrupt. As long as you tell me the truth."

Kol sat in silence for a moment, watching Elena pull the delicate daisy apart, before he finally replied to her. "No, Elena, I don't think you're a horrible person. I think that, recently, you've done some terrible things, but that doesn't make you a horrible person."

Elena scoffed and shook her head, throwing the destroyed flower onto the ground and picking up another one. "I thought you said you'd tell me the truth."

"I am. If there's anything you should know about me right now, Elena Gilbert, it's that I only lie to someone when it benefits me. I really don't see how lying about this would benefit me in any way, do you?"

Elena shook her head slowly, her gaze still on the daisy in her hand. "No… But I-I don't understand…" Her voice was a soft whisper and her picking at the daisy slowed. "I tried to kill one of my best friends, how does that not make me a horrible person, Kol?"

As she was speaking, she had slowly leant her head on Kol's shoulder as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She felt Kol's hand slowly come up and begin to play with her hair and, surprising herself, she let him.

There was a moment of silence as Kol pondered his words.

"Just because you did something bad, doesn't make you a bad person. You regret what you've done, Elena, you'd only be a bad person if you didn't regret what you've done."

Elena smiled slightly and let out a quiet laugh. "I never thought you'd be the mushy, sensitive type, Kol."

Kol laughed softly and continued stroking Elena's hair as he shook his head. "I'm not, your crying was getting on my nerves."

Elena let out an indignant noise and slapped Kol's shoulder. He chuckled evilly, making Elena lift her head from his shoulder and look at him. Kol raised an eyebrow. "Is that how it's going to be? Cause two can play at that game!"

Elena laughed and shot to her feet, running away from Kol as he stood up and chased after her.

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to write and post this terrible chapter!**_

_**I've got some MOCK exams coming up soon (basically practice GCSE'S or whatever tests you take at around 16 – I'm not American so I'm sorry if I've just confused you!) so I'll be revising for them. And on top of that we've got two of my younger cousins staying with us at the moment so it may be a while before I update again, but I will try and update as soon as I can.**_

_**I am so sorry I suck at regular updating! **_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Siberia21: It's definitely a bitter pill for Elijah to swallow and you see some of that coming forth in him in this chapter. You're welcome!**_

_**Kay (Guest): There's a lot more Elejah angst to come in this chapter! I'm glad you liked the Kolena pep talk! They're definitely not romantically paired, I just really love the thought of a friendship between the two! Thank you!**_

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: Thank you so much!**_

**ooOoo**

_Niklaus's voice startled Elijah from his thoughts and he blinked before addressing his brother, without turning around. "Why?" He could feel his little brother's confusion rolling off of him in waves and swallowed thickly. "Why does she listen to him and not to me?"_

_Klaus shrugged as he moved to stand beside Elijah, rather than next to him. "He doesn't know her like we do. She knows that he doesn't expect anything from her." The hybrid heaved an almighty sigh and clapped his older brother on the shoulder. "Besides, our little brother seems to have quite the way with words today."_

_Klaus turned away from Elijah and walked back inside the house. Elijah watched Kol and Elena for another moment, debating whether or not to see it was worth going over there, before he sighed and turned to follow his brother inside._

**ooOoo**

"_Just because you did something bad, doesn't make you a bad person. You regret what you've done, Elena, you'd only be a bad person if you didn't regret what you've done."_

_Elena smiled slightly and let out a quiet laugh. "I never thought you'd be the mushy, sensitive type, Kol."_

_Kol laughed softly and continued stroking Elena's hair as he shook his head. "I'm not, your crying was getting on my nerves."_

_Elena let out an indignant noise and slapped Kol's shoulder. He chuckled evilly, making Elena lift her head from his shoulder and look at him. Kol raised an eyebrow. "Is that how it's going to be? Cause two can play at that game!"_

_Elena laughed and shot to her feet, running away from Kol as he stood up and chased after her._

ooOoo

Kol and Elena had spent the better part of an hour joking and messing around in the yard as he strived to keep her mind off of the guilt of everything she had done. It was only when Rebekah had asked if she could have a word with Kol, that Elena's good mood had finally fallen.

Of course, Kol had asked her if she wanted him to stay with her – claiming that he could talk to his sister later – but Elena had politely declined, telling him that she didn't need a babysitter and that she was going to go for a walk. At which point, she had promptly leapt over the fencing around the yard and had walked away.

After several minutes of walking, Elena came across a small lake with a waterfall at one end. She kicked off her shoes and socks and rolled up her pants, grimacing when she saw a few drops of her own blood on the denim. The one thing that Elijah hadn't done for her was to change her clothes – probably trying to preserve her modesty, even though there wasn't really anything of her that he hadn't seen.

Elena waded into the river, enjoying the soothing sensation of the cold water washing over her toes and ankles. She moaned softly and closed her eyes so that she could focus on the soft sounds of the waves from the lake caused by the water tumbling from the waterfall - splashing louder than the other water.

The sounds simultaneously soothed and entranced her, making her almost completely unaware of everything else happening around her. After a few more moments of standing in the lake, Elena opened her eyes and waded back out of the water.

Once she was back on the grassy bank, she pulled her shirt over her head and took of her pants – leaving herself in only her bra and panties – before walking back into the water. As soon as the water was deep enough, she swam out to the middle of the lake and sighed softly as she turned over and floated on her back.

A short moment later, Elena turned onto her stomach and floated, face down, on the crystal clear water. She opened her eyes so that she could see the bottom of the lake and (for the first time) was incredibly glad that she had no real need to breathe.

A large hand clasped around her upper arm and Elena jumped in surprise – accidentally taking some of the water into her lungs. She turned over so that she was facing the sky again before standing on her tiptoes (so that her head cleared the water), coughing and spluttering as she tried to dislodge the liquid from her lungs. The same hand clapped and rubbed her back lightly in an attempt to help her along.

It was a few moments before she finally stopped spluttering and was able to turn to the person beside her. Elena rolled her eyes and pulled away from his grasp.

"What the hell, Elijah? Are you trying to kill me?"

Elijah glanced away guiltily and sighed softly before he looked back at her. "Forgive me, I tried calling to you, but you didn't answer; I thought you had…"

He trailed off and Elena snorted. "Thought I had what? Drowned myself?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Get over yourself, Elijah."

The brunette swam past the stunned Original, standing and walking to the water's edge when it got shallow enough. Her clothes were in the same messy pile she had dropped them in and she noticed Elijah's jacket beside them, folded neatly and placed on top of his shoes.

A small shiver wracked her frame when the cold air hit her wet skin and she rubbed her arms before bending and picking up her pile of clothes and her shoes. Without waiting for Elijah to catch up with her, she walked back the way she had come, not caring that her clothes were growing damp from their contact with her skin.

As another shiver hit her, Elena felt a soft, warm piece of fabric being laid over her shoulders. After a second, she realised that it was Elijah's jacket. He was walking beside her, his shoes in his hand and his soaked dress shirt over his arm, leaving his toned chest bare. Elena sighed before pulling his jacket tighter around herself and holding it with one hand as they walked back to his house in silence – for the most part.

"We need to talk, Elena…"

"We don't _need_ to do anything, Elijah."

Elena's retort was quick and bitter and she refused to look at him. Huffing when he took hold of her upper arm and pulled her to a stop.

"Yes, we do. Elena, you can't keep this all bottled up inside of you: it will tear you apart. _I_ _know_, Elena, because I tried to do the same; _it doesn't work_."

Elena silently glared at him for a few long moments before tugging her arm from his grasp. "Whatever. But I need a shower."

She didn't wait for him to respond to her, simply walked away from him and vaulted back over the fencing – into the lawn. Kol and Rebekah were stood over by the tree and they both glanced over at her, eyebrows raising when they saw her attire. A moment later, Elijah landed behind her – just as Klaus came out of the house with a glass of water in his hand. He looked at both of them and small smirk began to curve his lips.

"Don't even think about it, Klaus."

He quirked his lips down and raised a hand in surrender at her bitter tone, turning his body to the side when she brushed past him to enter the house. Elijah sighed and shook his head softly when his little brother looked at him before following Elena into the house, deciding to shower and change his clothes as well.

**ooOoo**

Elena sighed in relief as the warm water cascaded over her tired body. She ran her hands through her soaked hair, washing out the suds from the shampoo she had just used.

After conditioning her hair and washing her body, Elena turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping the soft towel around her body. She walked out of her bathroom and into the room she had chosen a few days before.

Her clothes were laid out on the bed (having taken them from Elijah's room before getting in her shower) and she dried herself off before pulling them on and putting a fresh towel to use on her hair.

Once her hair was no longer dripping wet, she left her room and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. Kol was sat at the island and he silently held out a glass of warm blood without turning to face her. Elena hesitated for a moment before accepting the glass and taking a small sip of the coppery liquid.

She moved around the island and sat opposite him, placing the glass on the counter and twisting it between her hands – careful not to spill the blood. Kol stared at her over the counter for a moment as he debated what to say. But, before he could speak, Klaus walked into the room and sat beside Elena.

"Okay, so, here's the deal, doppelgänger: you're either going to sit and talk with my big brother willingly, or I'm going to have a witch that I know trap the two of you in a room together until you both hash it all out. Got it?"

Elena glared at him and took another small sip of the blood. "Don't call me doppelgänger."

Klaus and Kol both chuckled at her comment and Kol shrugged, meeting Elena's eye. "I agree with him. The two of you need to sit down and argue, hell, scream and yell if you want. But, either way, you need to sort yourselves out."

"Which is why you two are coming with me. I'm going to go and see how Matt is doing and you two can do whatever you want in Mystic Falls for the day. But no killing anyone!"

The three immortals turned to face Rebekah and Klaus raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Are you sure that's wise, sister, they'll probably kill each other while we're gone!"

Elena whacked Klaus over the back of the head, glaring when he turned to face her with a pout on his face. The brunette rolled her eyes and turned back to look at her drink.

"I highly doubt it, Nik." Kol chirped. "If they're likely to destroy anything it'll be the house."

Rebekah and Klaus laughed, their laughs only increasing when Elena threw her empty glass at Kol's head. The two began to bicker as the others looked on in amusement.

"Children, please."

Their bickering instantly ceased as Elijah's voice cut over theirs. He strolled into the room, donning another black suit paired with a plain white shirt and black tie. Elijah filled the teapot with water and put it on to boil as he took a mug from the cupboard and placed it on the counter.

Kol waggled an eyebrow at Elena as he slid off of his stool and left the kitchen with Rebekah and Klaus. She rolled her eyes at his antics and sighed softly.

"Would you like anything, Elena?"

She glanced at Elijah upon hearing his voice, only to see that his back was still to her and he was taking a box of teabags from the cupboard. Elena considered for a moment before shaking her head slightly as she replied with a simple 'no, thank you'.

He nodded and placed the box of tea back in the cupboard after taking a single bag out and putting it in his mug.

After making his tea, he took the mug with him and settled across from Elena, occupying the seat Kol had been in before. They sat in silence for a moment as Elijah blew on his tea to cool it slightly before taking a delicate sip.

"You and Kol seem to have gotten rather close."

Elena shrugged slightly. "He's actually quite sweet when he wants to be."

Elijah smiled at her softly, taking another mouthful of his tea. He placed his mug back on the table and sighed softly, watching Elena intently. She tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes. "Is there something on my face?"

Elijah quirked an eyebrow and shook his head slightly, taking another mouthful of his drink. He swallowed and smoothed down the lapels of his jacket. "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

"Quit staring."

Elijah sighed and flicked his eyes towards the kitchen doorway before looking back at Elena and taking another sip of his drink. He locked eyes with her and exhaled softly.

"Why must you insist on keeping up this malicious farce, Elena?" Elijah said sadly, his light brown eyes softened as he regarded at her miserably.

A muscle in Elena's harsh jaw jumped as she clenched it and glared at him, shaking her head incredulously. "Malicious? You think I'm doing this to hurt you?"

Elijah shrugged softly and fiddled with the mug that he was holding in between his hands. He stared into the tea that was still in the mug, swirling it lightly.

"I've tried, and failed, to think of any other reason. You seem to be more than happy to converse with my siblings." He pursed his lips and ran his tongue over his teeth "Yet you've scarcely acknowledged me, aside from when you are being purposely spiteful."

Even though Elijah still wasn't looking at her, Elena looked away guiltily and chewed her lower lip. She looked back around just as Elijah looked up from his mug and their eyes locked. The Original's eyes were glistening with tears and he shook his head softly, taking a deep breath.

"If it's because of what I did to you; what I made you do, then I already hate myself enough. I don't need you to punish me for it…and…there can't be much that you could say to me that I haven't already said to myself."

Elijah swallowed the last of his tea; placed his mug back on the table and brushed away the tear that had begun to slip free from his eye before quirking one side of his lips sadly and leaving the room.

Elena appeared in front of him as he went to enter the lounge and she narrowed her eyes at him, jabbing a finger at his chest.

"No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to say stuff like that and then just walk away!"

"Why not, Elena?" Elijah's eyes hardened and he glared at the woman in front of him, his voice harsh and close to a yell. "Why do you get to say whatever you want and walk away from me, but I can't do the same to you?"

Elena floundered, her mouth opening and closing slightly as she tried to think of an answer to give him. He waited for a few moments before scoffing softly and brushing past her, towards the liquor cabinet.

The brunette stared at the place where Elijah had been in silence, bringing a hand up to brush away the tear that began to fall – pretty much slapping her cheek with the force she used.

Elijah, on the other hand, poured himself a small amount of scotch, hesitating a moment before filling the tumbler completely. He knocked back half of the glass in one go and sighed as he slammed it onto the table, some of the amber liquid spilling over the rim and onto his fingers and the table top.

Elena winced at the loud noise and spun to face Elijah. He was glaring into the fireplace, his back tense and his hands clenched into fists. She was pondering her words when Elijah shook his head softly and reached out for his glass.

He took a large gulp, feeling it go straight to his head and it made him dizzy for a moment before the effects wore off – one of his vampire perks.

"Are you? Doing this to punish me?" He elaborated, turning to face her and raising his glass as he pointed towards her. "Because I made you turn it off? Because of what we did together?"

His eyes weren't hard any longer. They'd gone back to normal and were beginning to water again as Elena swallowed and looked away from him. She sighed softly and ran a hand through her damp hair.

"Is there some…fantastical secret that my siblings know to get you to open up to them?" He laughed bitterly and shook his head. "Because, if there is, I would _really_ love to know!"

"They don't give a damn about me!" Elena screamed. "You wanna know 'the big secret'? Well that's it! They don't give a crap, so, if I tell them what the _hell_ is going on in my head, they don't care!" She shook her head and scoffed quietly. "They listen, but they don't really care, so they don't let it have any effect on them. If I talk to you, then you'll either wind up hating me or caring even more…and I don't want that for you."

"Did you never consider that it might be too late for that, Elena?"

Elijah yelled at her and his glass shattered against the far wall. The amber liquid leaving small drops of yellow on the cream walls.

"It's too late for you to try and stop me caring about you!" He was still yelling as he advanced on Elena. "Because…I look at you, Elena, and I just love you. And it really fucking terrifies me! It terrifies me what I would do for you…because I would do _anything_ to see you happy and safe!"

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: *Peeks out from behind cabinet and waves nervously* Hi…**_

_**Sorry for the cliffy! I just felt like this was a good way to end this chapter…**_

_**I was intending to have this up a few hours ago, but I wound up having to go the hospital *eye roll***_

_**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this. Please drop me a review, I would really love to hear what you have to say :D**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: Whoa! That's so awesome to hear! I'm glad you liked the cliffy!**_

_**Kay (Guest): Glad you loved the chapter! Sorry about the cliffy! There is still a lot more angst to come in this chapter, but you will get your Elejah make-up!**_

_**Guest: I'm guessing it's now! **_

_**Bulldozed88: Elena is definitely sulking at the moment, but she is beginning to get over it towards the end of this chapter – kind of! They have a rather large 'hash out' in this chapter, I hope you like it!**_

_**Rising Phoenix-82: Sorry! Elejah have another fight in this chapter, but I promise they begin to make up in the chapter after this one!**_

_**Siberia21: I'm sorry about the cliff-hanger! But I've been good and haven't left you all hanging for weeks! She does take some time away from everything in this chapter after a rather large fight between the two! You're welcome!**_

**ooOoo**

_She shook her head and scoffed quietly. "They listen, but they don't really care, so they don't let it have any effect on them. If I talk to you, then you'll either wind up hating me or caring even more…and I don't want that for you."_

"_Did you never consider that it might be too late for that, Elena?"_

_Elijah yelled at her and his glass shattered against the far wall. The amber liquid leaving small drops of yellow on the cream walls._

"_It's too late for you to try and stop me caring about you!" He was still yelling as he advanced on Elena. "Because…I look at you, Elena, and I just love you. And it really fucking terrifies me! It terrifies me what I would do for you…because I would do anything to see you happy and safe!"_

**ooOoo**

Elena stared at Elijah in a stunned silence for a moment. Hearing him say it to himself in a memory was one thing, but to hear him say it for real, to her, was more than a shock. She shook her head slowly, her lips parting slightly.

"I-I don't understand…wha-why? I'm a terrible person."

Elijah shook his head, a small smile creeping onto his lips as he cupped her face with both hands.

"No. You're not. Elena…you are one of the best people I have ever met in my long life on this earth, and I've met a lot of people." Elena smiled slightly, glancing away before looking back at him. Elijah met her eyes, letting her see the sincerity and adoration that they held.

"Yes, you may have done some terrible things, but so have I…and, at the end of the day, everyone has. Sure, their list of sins may differ from ours, but everyone has a list. It doesn't matter what you've done, or how long that list is, what matters is that you care about it. You've done a few bad things, but you're not standing here, saying that it doesn't matter – you _want_ to take it back. But you _can't_, Elena, you have to accept what you have done and move on from it. You can't let this keep you from living your life."

Elena sighed softly and placed her hands over Elijah's before gently taking hold of them and taking them from her face. Elijah could see the disbelief and cynicism in her eyes and grasped her hands tightly when she tried to pull away from him.

"Stop that, Elena. Stop pulling away from me. I know it sounds terrible right now, but you need to put this behind you. You have to let it go. Holding on to this self-contempt is only going to destroy you inside. And seeing _you_ like this is killing _me_."

She shook her head softly and pulled her hands from his, ignoring the hurt expression on his face as he reluctantly let her go.

"I just need some time, Elijah; some space…to try and…figure things out."

Elijah pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Space…" He said before scoffing softly. "Whatever."

Elijah turned to leave the room, but Elena touched his arm softly, making him stop. He didn't turn to face her.

"I'm sorry, Elijah. I really am, I just…I need some time to deal."

Elijah laughed bitterly, shaking his head and responded without turning to her. "I gave you time and you tried to kill yourself. I'm trying to open up to you and help you, Elena, but I can't, not if you're going to keep throwing it back in my face." He finally turned to face her and Elena visibly winced at the pain and heartbreak in his brown eyes.

"You want space? Fine. But don't expect me to come running when you call."

He shrugged off her hand and left the room, slamming the door behind him, making Elena jump. She stared remorsefully at the spot he had been stood in, seconds before, for a moment before shaking her head slightly and heading out into the corridor.

When their emotions had been off, Elijah had told her about a spare car he kept in the garage and she knew where the keys were kept. Elena quickly pinpointed Elijah with her hearing and, when she deemed the coast safe, sped up and into his room.

Her clothes had never been taken out after her humanity was flipped back on, and she quickly packed a bag with a few different outfits. The car keys weren't where Elijah had shown her and she frowned. She found them a few minutes later, on the desk in his study for some reason, and grabbed them, quickly leaving the house and going out to the car.

It turned on easily enough and Elena drove away, a strange feeling of emptiness washing over her.

ooOoo

When the three youngest Original siblings returned to Elijah's house, later that day, they were surprised to hear no sound coming from inside the building. They all exchanged glances, they'd been expecting to hear the two of them yelling and screaming at each other, or going at it like bunnies.

The silence was unnerving.

When they got into the house, they immediately sensed their older brother in the lounge, but Elena wasn't anywhere to be found.

They all stopped short at the sight before them as they entered the lounge.

Their level-headed, pragmatic, older brother was passed out on the couch, an empty bottle of vodka was on it's side by his hand, which was hanging off the cushioned couch. A variety of different alcohol bottles were strewn around the room, some in fragments by the walls, others intact.

But they were all empty.

Rebekah, Klaus and Kol all exchanged more glances, silently arguing over who was going to be the one to try and wake up their brother. The two men each raised a silent eyebrow at Rebekah and she glared back at the both of them. Each of them knew that, as the only girl of the family, there was a bigger chance that Elijah would be more responsive to her.

She shook her head mutely and pointed at each of her brothers in turn, before pointing to Elijah and throwing her hands up, leaving the room in a huff. Klaus and Kol turned to each other in silence, mutually agreeing on rock, paper scissors as the decider.

Kol won and smirked at his brother, waving mockingly as he followed Rebekah from the room and dodging the cushion that Klaus threw at him.

Klaus shook his older brother's shoulder softly, murmuring his name quietly. Elijah groaned and groggily slapped at his brother's hand, mumbling something incoherent as he turned away from Klaus.

The hybrid chuckled quietly and shook his brother's shoulder again. "Come on, you stay asleep on this couch and you're going to wake up with one hell of a sore neck, as well as the massive hangover that's coming your way."

Elijah grumbled something under his breath, but let his brother tug him to his feet. The older brother stumbled and Klaus caught him, pulling Elijah's arm around his shoulders to help him stand and walk from the room. Elijah leant on his little brother as he tried to get his bearings about him.

After a few minutes of stumbling on the stairs, he was back on the flat ground and managed to walk (with his little brother as a support), somewhat steadily, to his room. Klaus pushed the door open and helped Elijah over to the bed, sitting him down on the edge.

The drunk Original obediently kicked off his shoes under Klaus's order and helped Klaus get his jacket and tie off.

"She left me…"

Somehow, Elijah had wound up sat on the floor (while his brother threw his jacket and tie in the hamper and tossed his shoes by the closet) and Klaus looked round at him, with a frown marring his brow at his brother's drunken murmur.

"What?"

Elijah didn't look around at him. Instead, he had his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms were wrapped around them, his head buried in his knees. As his shoulders shook, Klaus realised, with a sudden clarity, that his big brother was crying. He walked over to Elijah and put a hand on his shoulder as he crouched beside him.

"I told her that I love her and she left." Elijah sobbed, his words muffled slightly by his knees. Klaus looked at his brother pitifully, silently cursing the doppelgänger for getting his brother so wound up inside.

He patted his brother's shoulder and stood up. "Come on, let's get you to bed. We can decide what to do about Elena when you're not so…drunk."

Elijah let himself be pulled to his feet and placed in his bed by his younger brother. Klaus covered him with the comforter and sighed softly as he turned to leave. When he opened the door, he stopped short upon hearing his brother quietly murmur something.

"You do know I love you, Niklaus?"

Klaus smiled to himself at Elijah's groggily muttered words and turned off the light.

"I love you too, brother."

**ooOoo**

Elijah let out a quiet groan and rolled over, somewhere in the back of his mind he noted that he had somehow made it to his bed. Despite being a vampire, and an Original at that, it would seem that he wasn't immune to the hangover that one was sure to receive after drinking nearly the entire supply of liquor that he had in his house (which was a lot).

He slowly opened his eyes, prepared for the brightness of the sun. Thankfully, his drapes were closed, meaning that he didn't have to deal with the harsh, bright rays of sunlight. Elijah spotted his shoes over by his closet and groaned softly as he remembered Niklaus helping him upstairs the night before.

By the time Elijah had managed to drag himself out of bed and into the shower, he was beginning to feel a little less like the walking dead (no pun intended) and he sighed in relief as he dried himself off and pulled on a plain, navy button up along with a pair of slacks. He wasn't in the mood for a complete suit.

His siblings were chattering away when he walked into the kitchen and Kol handed him a mug of hot coffee without breaking from his conversation. Elijah took a mouthful of the hot liquid, grimacing at the bitter taste, but needing the help to relieve his hangover. He could taste the blood in the beverage and nearly moaned in relief as it helped to shift his pounding headache faster.

His siblings all smirked at him as he quickly tossed back the rest of his drink. He glared at them all and shook his head before he turned and rinsed his mug, putting it in the dishwasher once he was done.

"Not a word."

"About what? Your hangover or your drunken confession of brotherly love?" Klaus jabbed, smirking when Elijah shot him a withering glare.

"Either."

Kol instantly stood up and filled another mug with coffee, holding it out to Elijah with a teasing smile. "I think you need more coffee, brother."

Elijah glared at him silently before turning and leaving the room. He stalked into the lounge, sighing when he saw some shards of glass that his siblings had obviously missed in their cleaning up of his mess. The dustpan and brush were still in the room and he let out a low breath as he picked them up and swept up the glass shards before dumping them in the trash.

"So…when you said that you told her you love her and she left…what d'you mean?"

Elijah shrugged softly, staring out of the window and not turning to face his siblings. "I told her that I love her, she asked why, I told her and she said needed some space. Then she packed a bag and left."

His siblings looked at him sympathetically. Kol huffed, moving from where he was stood and hitting his brother on the shoulder. "Come on then, we're going doppelgänger hunting!"

Elijah shook his head instantly and turned to his brother. "No. I'm done with her pushing me away, if she wants to see me then she can come and find me herself. I told her as much yesterday."

With that, Elijah left the room and went back upstairs, leaving his siblings in a stunned silence behind him.

**ooOoo**

Elena sighed as she entered the small bar in Oakhaven, in an equally small town just a few miles away from Elijah's home. She wandered over to the bar and sat on a stool as she waited for the bartender. It had been two days since her fight with Elijah and she had often found herself turning to talk to him – who, of course, wasn't there.

She was going insane. After spending so much time with him, she wasn't used to being without him.

A young woman came over a few moments later and took her order, smiling at her kindly as she brought her drink over to her.

"You look like you've had a crappy day."

Elena scoffed softly and sipped her drink, nodding. "A crappy few days is more like it," Elena glanced at her name tag. "Camille."

The blonde glanced at her tag and grimaced, looking back up at Elena. "I really should change this name tag, drunk guys keep hitting on me in French."

The two girls chuckled softly as Elena took another sip of her drink.

"So, what exactly have these 'crappy days' consisted of."

"I got in a fight with my…boyfriend." Elena grimaced and the blond smiled sympathetically, leaning on her hands, which were flat on the counter. "What about? If you don't mind my asking."

Elena shook her head slightly, shrugging softly. "We've both had a hard time dealing with…some stuff lately. He's trying to help but…"

"You keep pushing him away?"

The brunette quirked her lips softly. "Exactly. Anyway, he told me that he loves me, it's the first time he's ever said it to me. And I freaked." Camille grimaced and Elena continued. "I told him that I needed some space and a little time and he stormed off, saying that he was done with trying to help me and that he isn't going to come running if I call."

The blonde grimaced again, pouring Elena another drink when she noticed her glass was empty. Elena went to grab a bill to pay her for it, but she waved it off. "Don't worry about it; you need it."

Elena smiled gratefully, taking a sip of the liquor.

"So…he said he loves you and you basically ran out on him…"

Elena grimaced at the blonde's shortened version of her story and groaned softly. "Jeez, it sounds terrible when you say it like…that." Camille shrugged.

"It kind of is, just think how you would feel if he had done that to you."

Elena groaned again and dropped her head to the table. "My God…I feel like such a bitch."

Camille chuckled quietly and shook her head slightly, choosing not to comment on her statement. "Why are you drowning your sorrows in a bar if you're the one who left?"

Elena exhaled loudly and looked up at Camille, leaving her chin on the bar top.

"Because I'm going insane. I see something that makes me laugh and I turn to tell him, only he's not there. I can't stop thinking about him…his smile; how his eyes glint happily when I fight with his siblings…" Elena smiled to herself, trailing off as she thought about him.

She didn't miss the blond bartender's small smirk and looked up at her. Camille shook her head softly and grinned at the girl in front of her.

"Girl, you totally love him."

Elena looked at Camille in a shocked silence for a moment as she thought about it, before smiling to herself and nodding softly.

"Yeah…I really do…"

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: I'm sorry! Two cliffys in a row, I'm a terrible person, I know!**_

_**I know that in TO Cami is I NOLA, but I felt like having her and Elena talk so now she's wherever Elena and Elijah are! Did any of you TO watchers spot the quote?!**_

_**What did you think of this chapter? Please let me know, your reviews are the best!**_

_**I've already asked this before, but no one answered so I thought I ask again, just because I'm curious, how old do you guys reckon I am, just based off of my writing?**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm glad you like the chapter and that my second cliffy wasn't too cruel! **_

_**Dove (Guest [Chapter 11]): It kind of was his fault, but she was so emotional at that point that she wasn't really thinking rationally!**_

_**Kay (Guest): I'm sorry! MASSIVE Elejah reunion in this chapter! I hope you enjoy!**_

_**Siberia21: Very strange! I laughed writing it! Camilena (just made that up) therapy and humor chat definitely helped Elena sort her stuff out and it's definitely Cami's thing! I'm glad you enjoyed!**_

_**Gibsongurl: I'm glad that you feel my story is good enough for you to write a review when you don't normally. And I'm really happy that you liked all of the different relationships unfolding.**_

_**A/N: This was actually relatively easy for me to write compared to the last few and I hope you guys enjoy this update!**_

**ooOoo**

"_So…when you said that you told her you love her and she left…what d'you mean?"_

_Elijah shrugged softly, staring out of the window and not turning to face his siblings. "I told her that I love her, she asked why, I told her and she said needed some space. Then she packed a bag and left."_

_His siblings looked at him sympathetically. Kol huffed, moving from where he was stood and hitting his brother on the shoulder. "Come on then, we're going doppelgänger hunting!"_

_Elijah shook his head instantly and turned to his brother. "No. I'm done with her pushing me away, if she wants to see me then she can come and find me herself. I told her as much yesterday."_

_With that, Elijah left the room and went back upstairs, leaving his siblings in a stunned silence behind him._

**ooOoo**

"_Because I'm going insane. I see something that makes me laugh and I turn to tell him, only he's not there. I can't stop thinking about him…his smile; how his eyes glint happily when I fight with his siblings…" Elena smiled to herself, trailing off as she thought about him._

_She didn't miss the blond bartender's small smirk and looked up at her. Camille shook her head softly and grinned at the girl in front of her._

"_Girl, you totally love him."_

_Elena looked at Camille in a shocked silence for a moment as she thought about it, before smiling to herself and nodding softly._

"_Yeah…I really do…"_

**ooOoo**

Elena sighed as she threw her bag into the car. After coming to her realisation the night before, she'd spent another hour and a half in the bar, talking to Cami (as the blond had insisted Elena call her) when she was given the chance.

When she left the bar, she had driven straight back to the hotel that she had been staying at for the few days she'd been away from Elijah. She'd packed her bag and had fingered her phone for a few moments as she debated whether or not to call the Original and let him know that she was on her way back. After a moment, she'd decided against it and had slipped her phone back in her pocket.

Elena slid into the driver's seat of her borrowed car (not that she'd actually asked Elijah) and turned on the ignition. She sighed and drove away from the hotel. Her phone rang as she was driving and she glanced at the caller ID, hoping it was Elijah – even though she knew it wouldn't be.

It was Caroline and Elena sighed, debating for a moment before letting her phone ring off to voicemail. Damon called a moment later, followed by Stefan when Elena didn't answer. After another few calls, Elena turned off her phone, irritated by the fact that they wouldn't stop calling her when she was clearly ignoring them all.

Despite the fact that she was choosing to go and see Elijah, she found herself driving as slow as possible to put off their conversation. Turning a ten minute drive into twenty.

When she got to his house, his car was gone and she sighed. Of course, he had to have gone out the one time she decided to go back. Elena decided to wait outside for him to get back, figuring that breaking into his house wouldn't get them off to the best of starts.

It was only six minutes (of course she wasn't counting!) later that his car turned onto the driveway. The vehicle slowed – obviously he'd noticed the car – before going back to the same pace that it had been moving at before and parking beside Elena.

Elijah got out of his car and glanced at Elena before going round to the trunk and taking out a bag – Elijah had been shopping? He looked back at Elena as he passed her car and tilted his head slightly as he entered the house, leaving the door open in a clear gesture for her to follow.

She did.

When she got inside, he was already in the kitchen. She watched as he took a few bottles of wine from the bag and put one in the fridge before placing the others in his alcohol cupboard.

"You can sit down, Elena."

She looked up at him, but his back was turned to her as he moved around the kitchen, preparing a drink for himself. Elena hesitantly sank onto one of the barstools around the island, fiddling with her nails.

"Would you like anything?"

"No, thank you." She noticed that Elijah was studiously avoiding looking around at her and chewed on her bottom lip, already worried about how their conversation was going to go.

He sat opposite her a few moments later, finally looking her in the eyes. Soon enough, she found that she was the one who couldn't hold his gaze and looked away from him, picking at the black polish on her nails.

"Why are you here, Elena? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

Elena shrugged softly and looked back at him, but not meeting his eye. "I need to talk to you."

Elijah nodded, taking a small sip of his drink. "Okay, then talk."

Elena licked her lips, her mouth suddenly feeling as dry as a dirt road. Elijah's voice was nonchalant, devoid of almost _any_ emotion whatsoever – she could just about sense the small amount of hope that had slipped past his defences.

"I'm sorry." She said, deciding to stop beating around the bush. "I've been a complete bitch these last few days. You've only been trying to help me and I've been a complete cow to you." Elijah's lips quirked softly at Elena's apology and he took another sip of his drink.

When he placed his mug back on the table top, the emotion had bled from his face and his stoic demeanour was firmly back in place.

"I also owe you an apology, Elena. None of this would have happened if I hadn't kidnapped you and forced you to turn off your emotions. I tortured you, Elena, you killed people because of me. And I'm sorry for everything, Elena."

She finally met his eyes again, startled at the emotion behind them. His face was devoid of any emotion, but remorse was clear in his eyes. Elena quirked her lips softly and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's okay."

Elijah raised a silent eyebrow. Elena sighed and shook her head slightly.

"Okay, maybe it's not…but, it's like you said, I can't keep holding on to all of this. If I don't let myself begin to forgive you for what you did, then I'm never going to get over anything else."

Elijah nodded, accepting Elena's reasoning, and took another mouthful of his drink. He swallowed and met Elena's eye. "I'm assuming that isn't all you wanted to talk about."

She nodded, swallowing thickly and sighing slightly, knowing that Elijah was alluding to his confession days before.

"I met someone, while I was…away, a girl. She's a bartender at this place I went to and…she helped me make sense of some…things."

Elijah quirked an eyebrow and Elena smiled to herself. "Mainly how much of a bitch I was to you."

The Original smiled softly and shook his head in amusement as he took another drink. Elena sighed softly, chewing on her bottom lip, as she tried to figure out what to say next. She ran a hand through her hair again and took a deep breath.

"She helped me realise that I-I love you, Elijah. I don't know when I fell for you, but, somewhere…somewhere along the way, I did. And I-I…God, I'm so terrible at this." Elena groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

Elijah was still sat silently across from her, stunned by her admission. His mug was back on the table top and he watched her intently. After a moment where she didn't say anything more, Elijah found himself suddenly stood beside her.

Elena's slow heartbeat jumped at his proximity and she slowly withdrew her head from her hands. She looked round at him, her breathing quickening at his intense gaze.

Elijah rested a hand on the side of her face and she looked up at him, her lips parting ever so slightly. Without any conscious thought, Elena stood up. Their bodies were touching and the room was thick with tension as they each waited for the other to make the first move.

In the end, they weren't sure who moved first. But it didn't matter.

Either way, their lips met and they both let out a sigh of relief. Elena's arms wound around Elijah's neck and one of his wrapped around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. His other hand was on the side of her head, his fingers tangled in her brown locks.

A small moan escaped her at the contact with his muscular body and her arms tightened around his neck even further, her fingers threading in his short hair. Suddenly, her back was against the wall and Elijah pressed her firmly against it.

One of her legs wrapped around his hip and Elijah ran his hand down her side. He grasped her leg firmly and his other hand travelled down her opposite side, taking hold of her thigh and lifting her up. Elena wrapped her legs firmly around his waist.

Her head fell back against the wall with a dull thud when Elijah's lips trailed down to her throat and he laved and nipped at the skin there.

After a moment, she tugged on his hair, pulling his lips back up to meet hers. He responded to her plunder in earnest

"Upstairs." She muttered against his lips.

Elijah complied and Elena's back hit one of the walls of his bedroom a second later. She slid her hands under the lapels of his jacket and Elijah took his hands away from her body (wedging her firmly between the wall and his body to keep her up) to let her slide his jacket from his torso.

His hands were back on her body in an instant, slipping under the hem of her top and up her sides. Elena's fingers set to work taking off his tie before undoing his buttons, stumbling and slipping when he moved his lips down and nipped at the skin on her neck.

Elijah chuckled at her gasp and tore her shirt from her body, moaning in approval when he saw the lacy coverings she was wearing. Her fingers trembled and she fumbled with the buttons on his dress shirt as he trailed open mouthed kisses down her throat to the swell of her breast.

Eventually, she grew impatient, and tore his shirt open, the remaining buttons pinging off. Elijah chuckled and Elena's back hit his mattress a moment later as they tumbled onto the bed. He'd shucked his shirt somewhere along the way and Elena ran her hands over his muscular chest, humming happily at the feel of his bare skin.

Elijah's fingers undid the clasp of her bra and he tossed it away before his mouth descended on the skin of her breasts. Elena gasped and her fingers knotted in his hair, pulling his face closer to her chest. The Original smirked against her skin before he trailed his lips down to the waistband of her pants.

They shed the rest of their clothes and eagerly joined as one.

**ooOoo**

When Elijah woke up in the morning, there was an arm flung over his torso and a leg over both of his. He glanced down and saw that the brunette beside him also had her head on his chest. One of his arms was around her shoulders (her shoulders in the space between his arm and his torso) and he brought up that hand to play with the mess of brown hair that was strewn about, over the two of them.

Elena sighed contentedly in her sleep and wriggled closer to him, her arm and leg tightening around his body as she moved. Elijah heard her slow heartbeat speed up slightly, indicating that she was awake, but she didn't move or open her eyes.

Instead, she sighed again, burrowing her head into his chest. Elijah smiled to himself and leant down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Good morning."

"Is it?" She replied quietly, her fingertips beginning to draw small patterns on his bare chest. "I thought I was still sleeping."

Elijah grinned to himself as Elena looked up at him, smiling sweetly. She connected their lips in a small, soft kiss for a moment before resting her head back on his shoulder, his arm was still around her. Elijah continued to toy with her hair as she drew geometrical shapes on his skin.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Elena breathed. Elijah frowned down at her, but she was still focusing on his chest.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"To be truthful, I wasn't expecting you to even let me in the house. I thought you'd still be mad. And I definitely wasn't intending to fall into bed with you."

Elijah sighed, still absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair. "Are you saying you regret this?"

She shook her head instantly, sitting up to look at him and holding the sheet to her chest automatically. "Of course not. I just don't want you to think that I only came over here to hook up with you."

Elijah sat up, leaning back against the headboard. "I would never think that of you, Elena."

He could see that she still wasn't convinced and sat forward, cupping her face in his hands. "I _know_ that you would never use me, use anyone, in that way. You're much too compassionate for that."

She smiled softly and laid a hand over one of his, still keeping the sheet held against her chest with the other. After a moment, she slid from his bed and wandered over to the adjoining bathroom.

She looked around to see Elijah leant back against the headboard, his fingers laced behind his head. He was watching her with a lazy smirk curving his lips. Elena quirked an eyebrow as she opened the door.

"You coming?"

His smirk widened and, as Elena turned and went inside, he slid from the bed and followed her into the room. She turned on his shower, giggling happily when his arms encircled her waist and he tugged her under the spray with him, his lips seeking hers out immediately.

**ooOoo**

When they were done in the shower, Elena pulled on one of Elijah's shirts – despite the fact that there were drawers filled with her clothes from when she had had her emotions off – and a pair of panties. Elijah simply slipped on a pair of sweatpants and the two made their way downstairs.

The older vampire sat Elena down, refusing to let her do anything (being chivalrous), as he heated up a bag of blood for each of them and started on some scrambled eggs. She smiled to herself as she watched him move about the kitchen. As he was focused on the eggs, she slipped from her seat and took the blood bags from the microwave oven.

She poured the bags into two separate glasses and handed one to Elijah. He beamed at her as he took the glass and she smiled back before going to sit at the island. Elena sipped at her drink, perfectly content just sitting and watching the (shirtless) Original cook her breakfast.

Their eggs were done a few minutes later and Elijah plated them up, placing one in front of Elena, along with a set of cutlery, and taking the other for himself and sitting across from her. He took a mouthful of the blood in his glass and scooped up a forkful of the eggs.

The two vampires ate in silence, but, after a moment, Elena stopped eating the remaining eggs and started moving them around her plate with her fork. Elijah watched her for a minute before taking sip of his drink and sighing as he placed the glass on the table top.

"What is it?"

She looked up at him, seemingly startled and made a small noise of confusion before shaking her head softly and smiling. "It's nothing."

Elijah sighed again, placing his cutlery on his plate.

"You're forgetting that I know you, Elena, something is troubling you. What is it?"

Elena let out a quiet breath and set her fork down on her plate before looking back at him. "Don't you feel like we've rushed into this?"

Elijah cocked his head at the girl in front of him curiously and leant back in his chair. She chewed on her bottom lip and ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, we've only just started this whole thing and we're already sleeping together."

Elijah sighed softly, he hadn't even thought about how quickly they had jumped into their affair. He really wasn't concerned by it in the slightest, but he could see that it was bothering Elena.

"I'll tell you what," he said, "why don't we start over?"

"Start over?" Elena repeated sceptically.

Elijah nodded, leaning forward slightly. He could see that Elena wasn't sure and he smiled slightly as an idea popped into his head.

"You and I, this evening, we're going on a date."

"A date?" Elena said incredulously and slightly amused. "You want to take me on a date?"

Elijah nodded again, smiling at the brunette opposite him. "I do."

Elena chewed on her lower lip for a moment before smiling softly and nodding. "Okay, a date it is."

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: Some nice Elejah fluff at the end there for you guys **___

_**What did you think of their reunion? I'm a little iffy after re-reading this, so I want to know what you guys think! **_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm glad that you loved the fluff and their reunion and I hope that this date lives up to your expectations!**_

_**Siberia21: It makes me feel really great that you felt their reunion was natural, I did have a few worries about it being a little OC. Their differences will start to show now that they are 'officially' together. I also agree with Elijah, which is why I wrote that scene the way it turned out. I'm glad that you felt the 'sex' scene came off well and still stuck with the T rating!**_

_**Kay (Guest): You're welcome! I hope that this date lives up to your expectations and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**_

_**Bulldozed88: I'm glad you think that it came off great! Thanks for reminding about their phone calls! All that Elena's friends know is that Elena disappeared and that when she came back her emotions were off. They don't know about Elijah's involvement or that the other Originals have also gotten involved.**_

_**Rising Phoenix-82: He will forgive her for pretty much anything and everything. I'm glad that you like this story so far!**_

**ooOoo**

_Elijah sighed softly, he hadn't even thought about how quickly they had jumped into their affair. He really wasn't concerned by it in the slightest, but he could see that it was bothering Elena._

"_I'll tell you what," he said, "why don't we start over?"_

"_Start over?" Elena repeated sceptically._

_Elijah nodded, leaning forward slightly. He could see that Elena wasn't sure and he smiled slightly as an idea popped into his head._

"_You and I, this evening, we're going on a date."_

"_A date?" Elena said incredulously and slightly amused. "You want to take me on a date?"_

_Elijah nodded again, smiling at the brunette opposite him. "I do."_

_Elena chewed on her lower lip for a moment before smiling softly and nodding. "Okay, a date it is."_

**ooOoo**

'_Wear something fancy.' _

What did that even mean?

Elena sighed in frustration, tossing yet another dress aside. The only thing that she had managed to squeeze from Elijah had been to wear something fancy. But, coming from a man who's daily attire consisted of suits, that could mean anything! When she'd asked him to elaborate, he'd simply given her a mysterious smile and had told her to go change.

Her clothes were still in his room, so she had kicked him out – with strict instructions against entering until she said he could. She had spent the last twenty minutes (about that long anyway) searching for something that she thought was suitable.

And she still had no idea what she was going to wear.

There was a soft knock on the door and Elena sighed as she strode over to it, a prepared rant on her lips. Which promptly dies when she saw Rebekah and Klaus stood on the other side of the wooden door.

Klaus chuckled at her dumbfounded expression and the two siblings walked past her, into the room.

"Why don't you just come on in?" Elena said sarcastically.

Neither of them replied to her comment and Elena huffed as she shut the door and turned to face them.

Rebekah was fingering through the dresses that Elena had tossed aside, while Klaus was flicking through her clothes in the closet.

"What on Earth are you two doing?" Elena sighed tiredly, not in the mood to deal with either of them.

"Elijah mentioned something about a date. He also said that you've been up here for over twenty minutes trying to figure out what to wear…"

"So you're here to offer me fashion advice?" Elena scoffed incredulously at Rebekah's statement. The blond shrugged.

"If you don't want our help, then we'll just leave."

Elena ghosted into the siblings' path as they made their way to leave, a desperate expression on her face. "He won't give me anything more than 'fancy'. What the hell does that mean when he says it? He wears suits all the time!"

The two siblings smirked and exchanged glances before looking back at Elena.

"Is this you asking for our help, love?"

Elena clenched her jaw for a moment, glaring at the smug hybrid, before sighing in defeat and nodding slightly. "Yes."

The blonds grinned wolfishly at her, instantly making Elena regret her decision.

**ooOoo**

Klaus dismissed yet another of Rebekah's choices and Elena huffed angrily, sitting on the desk chair with her arms folded over her chest and glaring at the hybrid.

"What are you even doing here? You're hardly an expert in woman's fashion!" She said snarkily, nearly growling when he smirked, again!

"Well, love, as the only person – my darling older brother aside, of course – who knows where he is taking you. I would say I'm perfectly qualified to judge the choice of clothing you have."

Elena huffed again, but conceded to his point, she really needed to figure out what to wear.

Klaus raised an eyebrow and Elena ground her teeth together as she stood up and went back over to the closet, to continue looking for a dress.

After a moment she took out an emerald green dress. It had an empire strap with beads around the top of the dress. The front of the dress ended just above Elena's knees while the back was longer, coming down to just above her ankles.

Klaus studied it for a moment before shaking his head. "It needs to be longer."

Elena huffed. "I don't have any long case you forgot, I bought all of these clothes while my emotions were off."

Klaus was about to reply when Rebekah strode back into the room. "Then it's a good thing I do. Go and try this one on." She ordered, shoving the hanger at Elena.

The dress had a cover over it and Elena eyes the black material sceptically for a moment before looking back at Rebekah. She made a shooing motion with her hands and smirked slightly.

"Go on then. Before I change my mind."

Elena let out a quiet breath before turning on her heel and slouching over to the en suite.

**ooOoo**

A squeal came from the bathroom a few moments later and Klaus and Rebekah exchanged glances. Rebekah was smirking and Klaus was wearing an intrigued, yet amused, expression. He raised an eyebrow and Rebekah shrugged slightly, still grinning from ear to ear, as they waited for Elena to emerge from the bathroom.

When she did, Klaus' jaw nearly hit the floor.

Elena was wearing a red, strapless, mermaid-style dress that flared at the bottom with ruffles. She smiled nervously and smoothed down the dress as she chewed on her lip. Rebekah made a little circling motion with her finger and Elena twirled around slowly. The back of the dress was low cut, ending a small way below her shoulder blades.

She looked back at Klaus, waiting to see what he was going to say. He seemed to have finally gathered his wits and nodded slowly.

"Definitely."

She grinned, supressing a small squeal of joy as she walked over to the mirror and took stock of her appearance again. "I love this dress."

Rebekah shrugged slightly. "Keep it."

"What?" Elena looked round at her, a stunned expression in place.

Rebekah shrugged again. "I never really liked it anyway." She quickly held up a hand when she saw where the brunette's thoughts were going. "Don't you dare hug me."

Elena chuckled quietly, holding her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't."

Klaus rubbed his hands together and grinned at Elena as he sat up on the bed. "Right then, love, that's me all done. I'll leave you to finish getting ready."

She calls his name when he's by the door, and he turns to her with a small smirk. "Yes, love?"

"I-thank you."

He grins at her and nods slightly. "Thank you. Now I get to wind my brother up about your outfit for the few hours until you're ready."

They both grin and Elena shakes her head slightly as Klaus turns and leaves.

Rebekah hangs behind for a moment and looks to Elena. "Do you want a hand with your hair?"

Elena's all ready to decline, the words on her lips as she turns to the blond. But something in her eyes has Elena smiling and nodding. "Sure, that'd be nice."

Fifteen minutes later, Elena is perched on Elijah's desk chair (they'd moved it over in front of the full length mirror) while Rebekah begins to curl her hair.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Giving me your dress, doing my hair?"

Rebekah shrugs slightly as she holds a lock of Elena's hair around the curling iron.

"My brother is in love with you, Elena. I've never seen him care so deeply for someone who isn't his family. I still haven't forgiven you for the dagger in my back, but I figured that we should at least attempt to get along."

Elena smiled at Rebekah's reflection and the blond smiled back as she unwrapped Elena's hair from the curling iron and moved on to the next lock of hair.

**ooOoo**

It took them two hours, but Rebekah curled Elena's hair and twirled the two front sections before pinning them at the back of her head. She had gone on to apply a light blush to Elena's cheeks along with some eyeliner and some black, glittery eyeshadow. There was also a shiny coat of pale red gloss on her lips.

When she finally let Elena look back in the mirror (she'd turned her away the second she had finished curling her hair), the brunette gasped softly and looked at her reflection in awe.

"Oh my God, Rebekah… I look incredible. Thank you."

The blond smiled at Elena and patted her shoulder before walking over to the door. "You're welcome. Come on, I think we've kept my brother waiting long enough."

Elena giggled quietly, standing up and smoothing the dress down, only just managing not to bite her lip nervously, remembering Rebekah's warning about getting the gloss on her teeth.

Elena could make out the sounds of Elijah talking. It took her a moment before she realised that he was fretting about whether or not she would like his idea.

She stifled a giggle when the sound of Klaus hitting Elijah over the head was clearly audible.

"Stop bloody worrying, Elijah, she'll love it."

Kol laughed and Elena heard him slap Elijah on the shoulder. "And if she doesn't, then at least you two'll have fun together."

"Not helping, Kol!" Klaus hissed irately.

Rebekah scoffed and jogged down the stairs to tell Elijah that Elena was ready.

Elena placed a hand firmly on the banister as she carefully walked down the stairs in the five inch, black, peep-toe Louboutins that Rebekah had lent her.

Elijah walked to the foot of the stairs as Elena was coming down. He'd substituted his usual black tie for a plain black bow tie. His lips parted when Elena came into view and he watched her descend the stairs with openly displayed amazement.

He took her hand when she reached the bottom of the stairs and beamed at her, receiving a shy smile in reply.

"You look beautiful, Elena."

"You should thank your sister, this is all her handiwork."

Elijah smiled softly at Elena's remark as she finally stepped off of the last stair. "Not all of it."

She smiled, glancing down for a moment before looking back at him. Elijah led her outside of his house where a stretch limo with tinted windows was waiting. Elena chuckled quietly, shaking her head slightly as he led her to the back of the vehicle.

He opened the door and bowed slightly. "Miss Gilbert."

Elena giggled again. "Why, thank you, Mr Mikaelson."

She stepped into the back seat of the limo and slid over to the other side as Elijah climbed in after her and shut the door.

The windows were so darkly tinted that Elena couldn't see anything outside of them and she rolled her eyes slightly at the lengths that Elijah was going through to keep her from finding out where he was taking her.

He took a bottle of champagne from the cooler and two glass flutes. Elijah poured a small amount of champagne into each glass and handed one to Elena. She took it with a smile and took a small sip as he put the champagne bottle back.

"You really don't want me to find out where we're going, do you?"

He grinned. "Life is full of surprises, my sweet Elena."

He took a sip of his champagne, delighting in the sound of Elena's laughter filling the limo.

It was a forty minute drive to wherever Elijah's mysterious date was taking place and they filled the silence with idle chat.

**ooOoo**

The limo pulled to a stop and Elijah turned to Elena, he took her champagne flute and placed it beside the cooler.

"Do you trust me, Elena?"

She frowned slightly, but nodded. "Of course I do."

Elijah smiled back at me. "Close your eyes."

There was a small second of hesitation from her before Elena closed her eyes. She heard Elijah get out of the vehicle and close his door before hers opened a second later. Elijah took her hand and helped her climb out of the car. He looped her arm through his elbow and placed his hand over hers as he led her away from the car.

"Where are we going?" She laughed.

Elijah chuckled by her ear, low and lovely. "You'll find out soon, it isn't far now."

Elena whined quietly. "You're killing me here, Elijah."

"I would hope not, that would defeat the point of bringing you on a date."

Elena laughed softly, shaking her head slightly. "Did you just make a joke?"

She couldn't see his face, but she was pretty sure that Elijah was smirking as he spoke. "I am capable of making a joke on occasion, Elena."

She grinned to herself as Elijah continued to lead her.

They walked for five minutes before Elijah finally stopped them. Elena could hear music playing and smiled slightly as the sound washed over her.

"Open your eyes."

Elena took a breath before slowly opening her eyes. She gasped at the sight before her.

They were stood before a glistening, turquoise lake, and a painted white gazebo was beside the water. The gazebo was decked with fairy lights and an orchestra was playing off to the side.

A table was strategically placed on the gazebo deck, with a sheer lace, white tablecloth placed over it and two candles placed on the table top. Dark red roses were in a small vase in the centre of the round table, completing the romantic effect. There were also two wine glasses along with some utensils.

Elena's lips parted and she stared at the sight before her in awe. Elijah was standing beside her nervously, waiting to hear what she was going to say.

She didn't say anything, simply turned to him and engulfed him in a hug.

"This is incredible." She breathed into his ear, making Elijah smile as he hugged her back softly.

"I'm glad you like it."

Elena shook her head slightly as she pulled back with her arms still around him. "I don't like it, Elijah, I love it."

He smiled at her and took his arms from around her as he took a hold of hers. "Then, shall we?"

Elijah led her over to the gazebo and to the table. He pulled out her chair and she sat down with a smile before he pushed her chair in and moved around to his side of the table.

When he was sat down, a man came over, carrying two plates with silver covers. He placed a plate in front of each of them, between their utensils before leaving and coming back a moment later with a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. Once he had poured their drinks, he removed the silver covers and left again, leaving the wine bottle.

Elena eyed the red wine sceptically as Elijah picked his glass up and took a sip.

"Try it." He said.

Elena picked her glass up and took a small sip, looking at him in surprise as she tasted the blood mixed in.

"It's good, is it not?"

Elena smiled at him and put her glass back down, nodding slightly. "It's delicious."

**ooOoo**

After they had finished eating their dinner, the same man had brought out a plate of desert (brownies with ice cream and strawberries). When Elena had asked, Elijah had admitted that the man was compelled, as was the orchestra, but they were all being paid generously for their services.

After finishing their dessert, Elijah stood from the table and offered Elena his hand.

"May I have this dance, Miss Gilbert?"

Elena smiled and took his hand. "You may, Mr Mikaelson."

He led her to the middle of the gazebo and spun her into his body. Elena laughed as she placed a hand on his shoulder and left the other in his.

They began a simple waltz around the gazebo as the orchestra played in the background.

After a few minutes, they stopped waltzing and Elena placed both of her arms around his neck as they swayed from side to side.

"I never got to dance with you at your family's ball." Elena mused.

Elijah smiled at her softly. "That is something I regret, but circumstances got in the way."

He didn't need to elaborate, Elena knew exactly what he was referring to and sighed softly. But, before she could say anything, Elijah spoke again.

"I suppose we will just have to dance for a very long time to make up for it."

**ooOoo**

**A/N: I think that I may make Caroline a bigger part of this story, but what I want to know, if I do, is who you want her paired with. Klaus, Stefan or possibly even Kol?**

**Please review and tell me what you thought of their date and who you all want Caroline to be paired with!**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Siberia21: I'm really glad that you like the Elena/Rebekah/Klaus relationships while they were helping Elena prepare! And I'm so happy that you think the Elejah date was a good idea! I do like the idea of Caroline/Kol, and it definitely would be a challenge for all of us! You're welcome and I hope you enjoy this update as much.**_

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for your opinion, I also think that Caroline/Kol would be really fun to write!**_

_**Angel of Darkness Forever: Caroline and Nik are god together!**_

_**Rising Phoenix-82: Don't apologise, the only one of those three I wouldn't be particularly happy to write Caroline with would be Stefan. I only included him because quite a few people ship them at the moment, although apparently none of them read this fic!**_

_**Kay (Guest): You're welcome and I'm glad you felt that way! Klaroline definitely have chemistry!**_

**ooOoo**

"_May I have this dance, Miss Gilbert?"_

_Elena smiled and took his hand. "You may, Mr Mikaelson."_

_He led her to the middle of the gazebo and spun her into his body. Elena laughed as she placed a hand on his shoulder and left the other in his._

_They began a simple waltz around the gazebo as the orchestra played in the background._

_After a few minutes, they stopped waltzing and Elena placed both of her arms around his neck as they swayed from side to side._

"_I never got to dance with you at your family's ball." Elena mused._

_Elijah smiled at her softly. "That is something I regret, but circumstances got in the way."_

_He didn't need to elaborate, Elena knew exactly what he was referring to and sighed softly. But, before she could say anything, Elijah spoke again._

"_I suppose we will just have to dance for a very long time to make up for it."_

**ooOoo**

Elena let out a content sigh as she woke up, the arm around her waist tightened slightly as she wriggled a little and she felt Elijah's face nuzzle her neck. One of his legs had been slung over both of hers while they had slept and it pulled her legs closer as he tightened his hold on her slightly – his sign of waking up.

"Good morning." She breathed happily, enjoying the feel of Elijah holding her.

"It is indeed." Elijah whispered, kissing her neck softly. Elena let out a soft breath, smiling to herself as Elijah continued to press open mouthed kisses to the skin of her neck.

"Elijah…" She moaned. "We can't, not with your family downstairs."

She felt Elijah's lips curve into a smirk against her neck and he ran his fingers over her hip bone.

"That didn't stop you last night…" He hummed against her throat, making her shudder and let out a soft, barely audible, whine. Elijah grinned and rolled over her, tenderly kissing her lips. Elena smiled and wound her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, just as softly.

Elijah gently kissed down, over her chin and to her neck. She moaned quietly. "Elijah…we can't…"

He groaned against her throat and laved at the skin. "My siblings won't mind." He promised. "They've seen and heard it all before, sweetheart."

Elena sighed softly, caught somewhere between wanting to let him have his way with her and not wanting his siblings to hear any more of their 'activities'. She was saved from having to make the choice a moment later by the sound of her phone ringing.

Elijah groaned and stopped laving at the skin of her neck.

"I have an immense amount of hatred for your phone, right now, lovely."

Elena laughed and Elijah rolled off of her so that she could grab her phone. She did and sighed slightly when she saw the ID. There was a long moment of hesitation before she finally answered the phone.

"Hey, Caroline."

"_No, no, no! Don't you 'Hey, Caroline' me! What the hell, Elena?"_

As Caroline started on her tangent, Elena turned to Elijah and rolled her eyes, making him laugh softly.

"_Who was that?"_ Caroline demanded. Elena grimaced and chewed on her lip.

"I-no one." She stuttered, swatting Elijah on the head when he started placing open mouthed kisses to her stomach. He smirked up at her, but didn't stop what he was doing.

"_Elena Gilbert, tell me that your humanity is back on and you aren't screwing some random stranger right now."_

Elijah looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, making Elena smirk at him. She ran the fingers of her spare hand through his hair as he crawled up her body and barely remembered to reply to Caroline.

"Nope," she said, "not some random stranger."

Elena gasped when Elijah nipped at her collar bone and she felt his lips curve into a smirk.

"_What about Damon?"_

Elena felt Elijah stiffen against her at Caroline's question and he pulled back to look at her, vulnerability and uncertainty reflected in his eyes. She placed the hand that wasn't holding the phone on his cheek and looked into his eyes.

"I broke up with Damon a long time ago, we've been over since before I even went to the other side." Elena said, replying to Caroline, but talking to Elijah. She could still see some doubt in his eyes, but, before she could address him, Caroline was talking again.

"_So what now, Elena? Are you switching Salvatores again?"_

"Caroline!" Elena gasped, stunned at the audacity of her blonde friend.

"Well, I'm sorry, Elena." She said sarcastically. "But can you really blame me? Especially with how many times you've already thought about switching before now."

"Caroline! I am not 'switching Salvatores'! I love them both, but I'm not in love with either of them."

"So there's someone else?" Caroline said, her voice laced with curiosity and an eagerness for information that was all Caroline.

"Yes," she replied, after a brief hesitation, "there is."

"_Do you love him?"_ Damon demanded suddenly through the phone.

"Caroline." Elena growled. Elijah gently laid his hand over hers and smiled slightly before he took her hand from his cheek and stood up to leave. She quickly turned her hand and grabbed his to stop him from leaving. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand as he gently kissed her forehead, quietly murmuring (so that the vampires on her phone couldn't hear him) that he would give her a minute to talk to her friends.

Elijah went into the en suite and closed the door behind him. The shower turned on a moment later and Elena sighed softly as she settled back against the headboard, tuning into her conversation with Caroline just in time to hear her say.

"_-forgot to mention that Damon, Stefan, Bonnie and Jeremy are here as well."_

Elena scoffed quietly and shook her head disbelievingly.

"_**Do you love him,**__ Elena?" _Damon growled.

"So what if I do, Damon? I broke up with you _months_ ago! Why is this any of your concern?"

"_Who is it?" _He snarled, making Elena laugh. "Why would I tell you? So you can go and kill him?"

"_Yes!"_

"_Damon!" _Caroline yelled.

"_What the hell is wrong with you?"_ Bonnie asked, loudly and incredulously. _"Just because Elena has the audacity to want to be happy with someone who isn't you, you would try and tear that away from her?"_

"_Seriously, dickwad," _Jeremy interjected, making Elena smile and shake her head,_ "if you love my sister, shouldn't you just want her to be happy?"_

Elena heard Damon huff and there was a mutter of 'whatever' from him before a door slammed. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"_Just ignore him, Elena, he'll come around eventually. I had to."_

"Stefan…" Elena breathed, but she heard (what was most likely) the same door open and close again, quieter than when Damon had left.

"_So..."_ Caroline said awkwardly, drawing out the one syllable word for a few long moments.

"Well that went brilliantly, great job with that one, Caroline!"

Caroline huffed indignantly. _"Hey! It's hardly my fault that the Salvatores are both madly in love with you!"_

Elena laughed manically. "Oh! So this is my fault now?"

"_Well it sure as hell isn't mine!"_

Elena opened her mouth to make a retort, but she heard Bonnie huff before she cut across the two of them.

"_Will the two of you stop already? Caroline, Elena does have a point, you should have known how they were both going to react."_

Elena grinned to herself as she heard Caroline let out an exaggerated sigh and, almost certainly, glared at Bonnie.

"_Come on then, Elena, who is it? Do we know him?"_ Jeremy quickly cut into the conversation before the three girls could argue anymore and Elena grinned to herself, shaking her head slightly.

"It's a _really_ long story."

Elena smiled at Elijah as he came out of the en suite, his hair wet and a towel wrapped around his lover half, hanging low on his hips. He smiled back and strolled over to his chest of drawers, taking out a pair of slacks.

"_It can't be that long of a story!"_

"Trust me, Jer, it is." Elijah jotted something onto a piece of paper and handed it to Elena.

_Tell them that they can come here._

_Are you sure? _Elena mouthed back. Elijah nodded and kissed her cheek softly before pulling away and stripping his towel off to pull on the pants.

Whilst he did, Elena told Caroline that she would text her an address for them all to go to and that she would explain everything once they got there. She hung up the phone and smiled at Elijah when he sat beside her.

"You didn't have to do that, I doubt you want them all knowing where your house is, let alone-."

Elijah placed a finger over her lips, effectively cutting off her tirade. He smiled at her and moved his hand to tenderly brush a piece of hair behind Elena's ear. "They're your friends, Elena, I'm hardly going to keep you from them, or keep them from you. Even if that means that they have to come here."

**ooOoo**

Elena's body tensed the instant that her hearing picked up on the sound of Caroline's car pulling into Elijah's driveway. The Original by her side rubbed her arm soothingly and tightened his hold around her shoulders for a brief moment.

"Don't worry, my lovely, your friends will understand."

Elena laughed nervously and shook her head slightly. "It's not their reactions I'm worried about, it's Jeremy. I can deal with Caroline and Bonnie…maybe. Oh my God, Bonnie's going to hate me." She groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

Elijah winced guiltily. He knew that Elena's friends were hardly fond of his family, or him, but the last thing that he wanted to do was to ruin her friendships with them.

"Elena…" Elijah breathed before trailing off. For once, he was at a loss for words. The ever eloquent Original had no idea what to say to her.

"Listen here," Rebekah said, getting everyone's attention and making Elena take her head from her hands, "if they're really your friends, then they won't care who you fell in love with. Your friends should want what's best for you, they shouldn't want to keep you from that just because they have a grudge against your boyfriend and his family."

Elena flushed slightly when Rebekah called Elijah her boyfriend and Kol laughed from across the room. It just sounded so bizarre to call Elijah anyone's _boyfriend_! A pillow hit Kol's face a moment later and everyone aside from Kol and Elijah burst out laughing, Elijah simply chuckled quietly (as was more his style).

The car doors opened and slammed outside and Elena instantly tensed again, Elijah rubbed her arm softly and gently kissed her forehead. "It's going to be okay."

She turned and smiled at him before placing a soft kiss on his lips. He took his arm from around her shoulders as she stood up. Elijah silently raised an eyebrow and she thought for a moment before shaking her head, just as the doorbell rang. He smiled encouragingly at her before she turned and went to the door.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at Elena as she opened the door and practically gawked as the corridor came into view.

"Elena! This place is awesome! Who the hell owns it?"

Elena sighed and bit her bottom lip. "Come on in, guys." She opened the door wider and turned, walking back down the corridor.

Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy walked in and Jeremy, being the last one in, closed the front door behind him before they all followed her down the hall.

Elena stopped just before the lounge and turned to her friends and her brother. "Okay, so…I really need you guys to just not freak out, please."

They all looked at her like she was insane, but nodded anyway. "Of course we won't freak out, Lena. He's not like an alien, is he?"

Elena managed to crack a weak smile at her little brother's joke and let out a quiet sigh. She turned away from her friends and walked into the lounge.

Elijah had stood up and was in the process of pouring himself a glass of scotch. Rebekah and Kol were still lounging in the same armchairs that they had been in before and Elena stifled a laugh when Rebekah threw another pillow at Kol. Klaus was gone and Elena frowned slightly. Kol made a little phone gesture beside his ear with his thumb and pinkie and Elena nodded.

Elijah turned and smiled at her before taking a sip of his drink. She heard the sharp intakes of breath from her friends and Jeremy and grimaced as she walked over to Elijah. He handed her his scotch without a word and she quickly gulped down half of it.

"You're dating _Elijah_?" Bonnie said incredulously. "Elijah? As in the guy who's responsible for _my_ _mom_ becoming a vampire, Elena?"

"Bonnie!" Elena admonished, glaring at her best friend with a mixture of shock and annoyance. Elijah rubbed the back of her hand gently.

"It's perfectly alright, Elena." He stepped forward, looking at Bonnie intently. "I can assure you, Miss Bennett, you have my condolences, but, if I were to be presented with the same choice again, I would not do anything differently. Because I will do anything that I have to to protect the people that I love, and that includes Elena. She is my family now and I love her, more than I have ever loved anyone before. I will not allow anyone to hurt her, not even you. As one of her best friends, you should, _at_ _the very_ _least,_ respect that."

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence following Elijah's speech – even his siblings – and he continued to stare at the flustered witch. After a few long moments, she huffed and shook her head.

"Just because I can respect that, doesn't mean that I have to like it." Bonnie practically growled before turning and storming from the house.

Elena went to follow her, but Caroline shook her head and held up a hand, looking mildly impressed with Elijah, but still aggravated. "I've got it."

Elena nodded after a moment and sighed softly as Caroline followed after their friend. "Well…" She sighed. "That went just about how I expected it to."

Elena downed the rest of the scotch in her hand and went over to the cart for a refill. She took a mouthful before handing the glass back to Elijah. He smiled at her and took a sip of the liquor before sitting in his preferred armchair.

"Soooo…" Jeremy said, amusement lacing his voice. "You're dating the badass, oldest Original brother?"

Elena smiled at her brother and shrugged slightly. He thought for a moment before nodding and looking between the two of them.

"Do I need to give the pair of you the lectures?"

"That depends," Elena said, frowning, but amused at the idea of _Jeremy_ lecturing _Elijah_, "which ones do you mean?"

Jeremy shrugged, grinning at his sister. "You know, the 'his family is a bunch of psychotic killers' one. And you," he said, pointing at Elijah, his whole demeanour turning more serious, "the 'you hurt my sister and there's a mythical dagger in your near future' lecture."

Elijah shook his head, sitting forward slightly to convey his seriousness. "I assure you, you need not lecture me, Mr Gilbert. I would _never_ hurt Elena."

Jeremy watched Elijah intently for a few moments before nodding solemnly and smiling slightly. "Good."

Elijah nodded back once and took a sip of his drink.

Elena watched the two before letting out a soft breath and nodding to herself. That didn't go too badly. Now she just had Bonnie and Caroline to deal with.

They could hear the two of them arguing outside and Elena grimaced, wandering over to Elijah and sitting on the arm of his chair. He placed his hand at the small of her back and rubbed softly. She looked around at him and smiled weakly.

"Bonnie'll get over it, Elena. She's your best friend."

Elena smiled "Thanks, Jer."

At that moment, Klaus walked in, placing his phone in his pocket. He looked over the room and towards the window before huffing and looking back at everyone else.

"I bloody missed it, didn't I?"

**ooOoo**

_**Yes, Klaus, yes you did.**_

_**But I'm sure he can catch the ever more angst filled Carobolena (I don't even know what that is!) argument later next chapter if you wonderful people review!**_

_**Keep telling me who you think Caroline should be with. The votes are currently:**_

_**Klaus – 3**_

_**Kol – 2 **_

_**Stefan – 0**_

_**Poor Stef! Tell me what you guys want to happen.**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Bulldozed88: I love that logic, 'cause it is actually basically Bonnies fault – I would have Elena bring that up, but I think that's a bit harsh for her! I'm glad you loved it! Damon and Stefan don't actually know who it is yet, I'm not sure how exactly that is going to go down yet though!**_

_**Aria Daughter of Chaos: I'm glad you found it enjoyable and amusing and I hope this chapter is just as enjoyable to read.**_

_**Guest: Thank you for your input!**_

_**Siberia21: Elena shouldn't have taken the call, her life would have been so much simpler last chapter if she hadn't! You're welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed!**_

_**Kay (Guest): I'm glad you loved the Elejah and Rebekah pep talk. Bonnie isn't one of my favorite characters to be honest, I've always found her judgmental and petty, and I'm going to try and stick to her character as much as I can, but she might wind up staying pretty judgy :/**_

_**Guest: Thank you for your vote **_

_**French92 (Guest): Thanks for the review and for your vote **_

_**Frasylolo (Guest): Cheers for sharing your opinion!**_

_**Rising Phoenix-82: I hope that we get some Klaroline at the end of TO. I love Care and I love Stefan, but I prefer the two of them as friends. Thank you for sharing what you want to happen **_

_**Kristiomar90: Bonnie and Klaus would be funny to see together! **_

**ooOoo**

_Elijah shook his head, sitting forward slightly to convey his seriousness. "I assure you, you need not lecture me, Mr Gilbert. I would never hurt Elena."_

_Jeremy watched Elijah intently for a few moments before nodding solemnly and smiling slightly. "Good."_

_Elijah nodded back once and took a sip of his drink._

_Elena watched the two before letting out a soft breath and nodding to herself. That didn't go too badly. Now she just had Bonnie and Caroline to deal with._

_They could hear the two of them arguing outside and Elena grimaced, wandering over to Elijah and sitting on the arm of his chair. He placed his hand at the small of her back and rubbed softly. She looked around at him and smiled weakly._

"_Bonnie'll get over it, Elena. She's your best friend."_

_Elena smiled "Thanks, Jer."_

_At that moment, Klaus walked in, placing his phone in his pocket. He looked over the room and towards the window before huffing and looking back at everyone else._

"_I bloody missed it, didn't I?"_

**ooOoo**

It was at least ten minutes before Caroline finally walked into the house, Bonnie following her. Caroline looked at Elijah and pointed at him. "I want a word with you."

Elijah's eyebrows shot into his hairline and he looked at her in amusement, tinged with shock. Elena's mouth fell open and she looked at Caroline in shock.

"Care!"

The blonde shrugged and glanced at Elena before looking back at the Original. "Come on then."

Elijah let out a breathy scoff at the nerve of the young vampire and shook his head slightly before standing from the love seat and leading Caroline out to the lawn.

Bonnie shuffled her feet awkwardly where she stood before she looked up at Elena.

"Okay, look: I'm sorry, Elena. But surely you get where I'm coming from? He's the reason my mom is a vampire!"

"Technically," Klaus cut in, before Elena could talk, "that was all Stefan and Damon. My brother didn't tell them to turn your mother into a vampire, he simply told the Salvatores that my mother's link to your bloodline had to be severed. They chose to turn your mother."

Bonnie glared at him tiredly. "But if he hadn't kidnapped Elena then they wouldn't have been given that choice."

Elena scoffed slightly. "Bonnie, if we're going down that line, then Elijah only took me because I lied to him at the ball and let his mother link him and his siblings. So, by that logic, it's my fault. Are you going to blame me for it too?"

"Of course not." Bonnie replied quickly, making Elena raise an eyebrow at her. The witch huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Look, Elena, his family is a bunch of murdering psychopaths! Can you blame me for being a little concerned?"

"Elijah is different than them, Bonnie." Elena denied easily, shaking her head softly. "And, being perfectly honest, the rest of them haven't been that bad either. Elijah and I have actually been worse than them lately."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter." Elena said quickly, not wanting to get into her emotionless escapades. "What matters is that Elijah isn't like that. He's a genuinely good guy, Bon."

A tense silence filled the room as everyone waited for Bonnie's response. She let out a low breath and ran her hand through her hair.

"And you're happy here? With him?" Elena nodded silently, looking at her friend curiously. Bonnie sighed again and shook her head slightly.

"I don't like it, but, if you're happy with him, I suppose I'll try and get on with him."

**ooOoo**

Elijah held the back door open for Caroline as he led her out of the house. She looked at him for a moment, surprised, before smiling softly and nodding once in thanks before walking past him – to the lawn.

Elijah walked out and shut the door behind him. "So, Miss Forbes, what is it you wish to discuss with me?"

Caroline's polite smile turned into a stern look and she narrowed her eyes at him. The blonde pointed a finger at him and frowned.

"I know for a fact that Jeremy has already told you this, but, I swear to God, if you hurt Elena, I will break off an extra-large branch of wood, wrap in vervain, sprinkle it with white oak and shove it up your-"

"I believe I get the picture, Miss Forbes." Elijah interrupted, smiling at the blonde. Caroline smirked back at him and folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm glad we understand each other."

Elijah raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. "Miss Forbes, I am not entirely sure if you have a death wish, or if you simply believe that you're allowed to order me about."

Caroline was still smirking and she shrugged slightly. "Well, you're hardly going to do anything to me."

Elijah quirked his eyebrows for a second and nodded slightly. "Of course not. Elena would truly kill me."

Caroline laughed and nodded. "She really would."

Elijah chuckled softly and the two vampires smiled at each other. He raised an eyebrow when Caroline stared at him for a few moments. The blonde shook her head slightly, as though only just realising that she had been staring.

"Sorry, it's just…isn't this the first time we've actually met each other?"

Elijah considered for a moment before nodding slightly. "Yes, I do believe it is. And you are already lecturing me." He added dryly, making Caroline smile and shrug slightly.

"You'll get used to it."

Elijah chuckled softly and shook his head. Caroline was watching him intently again and he raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Everyone said you were more broody than Stefan, but you don't seem to be."

He frowned slightly and opened his mouth to reply before closing it again and hesitating. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" He probed. Caroline shrugged slightly and he found himself smiling again.

"I usually am," he replied, deciding to be honest with the bubbly blonde for some reason, "it's Elena. I seem to be unable to stop smiling around her."

Caroline smiled at him softly. "You're _really_ in love with her, aren't you?" She asked, realising just how serious he was about her best friend.

He nodded, smiling yet again. "I really am, Miss Forbes."

She studied him before nodding. "She's lost too many people that she loves, Elijah, don't add yourself to that list."

Caroline watched him for a moment longer before turning and walking inside.

Elijah watched the young vampire curiously as she went inside. The girl had quite some nerve, ordering around an Original, but it was all for her best friend, the girl who was practically her family. It made Elijah smile.

He followed Caroline inside after a few moments and went through to the lounge. Elena met his eye when he walked in and she raised an eyebrow at him.

He smiled back and went over to her. She was sat on the love seat and he sat beside her when she moved over to make more room for him. Elena leant into his side and he automatically placed his arm around her shoulders.

Jeremy and Caroline watched of them, smiling slightly when Elena turned and met Elijah's eye – some sort of silent message passing between the two vampires.

Bonnie, on the other hand, stared at the couple intently, without a hint of a smile. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that the two vampires were cute together (for lack of a better word). But it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. That taste was cemented when she saw the love shining in her best friend's eyes.

However, her expression remained passive, not betraying her disgust because of the promise she had made to Elena.

Caroline saw straight through her friend and narrowed her eyes at her. Sure, Elijah had done some bad things, but so had Elena. So had Stefan and Damon. They all had. Caroline had been responsible for the deaths of twelve witches to save Bonnie's life.

Bonnie had lowered the veil to the other side, essentially unleashing hell on earth, and she had the nerve to judge Elijah for protecting his family?

Elena and Elijah seemed to be unaware of the tension between Bonnie and Caroline as they continued to communicate silently. Elijah gently brushed a piece of hair behind Elena's ear. She frowned at him, her eyes flicking to Caroline and he smiled.

"Do you two mind telling us what's going on in your heads?"

They both looked around at Klaus at the sound of his voice and grinned simultaneously.

"Where's the fun in that?" Elena asked, still grinning. He glared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Elijah was just filling me in on his talk with Caroline."

"Through just looking at each other?" Kol asked, incredulously, and Elena and Elijah shrugged in tandem.

"They've always been able to communicate just through looks. It got incredibly annoying, extremely fast." Caroline drawled, poking her tongue out at Elena when the latter smirked at her blonde friend.

"But extremely helpful when we didn't want other people to know what we were thinking." Elena interjected, making Caroline and Jeremy laugh. She rolled her eyes and tossed a cushion at her brother when he waggled his eyebrows.

He simply laughed again as he caught the cushion and threw it at Caroline.

"Hey!" She cried indignantly, despite the fact that her reflexes were beyond good enough to catch the cushion, and threw it back at him.

Jeremy hurled it Elena's way, but Kol intercepted the throw and chucked it at an unsuspecting Rebekah's head, making everyone laugh – even Bonnie.

Rebekah huffed and picked up the cushion; throwing it back in Kol's direction. He moved out of the way and the soft fabric hit Elena in the chest. She laughed, before stopping abruptly when she heard a growl rumble in Elijah's chest. A frown furrowed her brow and she turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

He was glaring at Rebekah and didn't seem to hear Elena's question. She glanced at the others, but they were staring at him with the same confusion written on their faces.

"Elijah?" She asked softly, placing her hand on his cheek. Her touch seemed to snap him out of whatever was wrong with him and he looked round at her sharply. He took in her confused frown and the, equally confused, expressions of everyone else.

"Forgive me," he murmured placing his hand over hers and it from his cheek, pressing his lips against it instead, "I think I should get some air." Without waiting for anyone to respond, he stood up, dropping Elena's hand as he did, and left the room.

Elena went to follow him, but Kol stopped her with a light touch on the arm.

"He's been like that for a while."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, turning to face him, her brow still furrowed in confusion.

"He attacked you." Rebekah interjected.

"Then he attacked Kol after you left, when Kol told us that he had broken your neck." Klaus cut over his sister.

"Hold on," Caroline said, "Elijah _attacked_ Elena?" She asked, before looking to Elena. "He attacked you?"

"It's a really long story." Elena sighed. "They'll explain." She didn't wait for her reply, just jogged after Elijah.

**ooOoo**

When she found him, he was stood in the river. His dress shoes and his socks were on the river bank, his slacks were rolled up so that the water lapping at his ankles didn't soak the fabric. He had his hands in the pockets of his pants and he was staring at the waterfall.

Elena kicked off her flats and walked into the water – not needing to worry about her clothes because she was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a halter top.

When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested the side of her face between his shoulder blades. One of his hands came up to rest over hers and he sighed softly, his tense muscles relaxing slightly at her touch.

"Are you okay?" She probed quietly, after a moment, taking her head from his back and resting it on his shoulder instead.

He shook his head slightly. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Elena. I wanted to snap my sister's neck. I wanted to break her neck just for throwing a cushion at you."

She placed a soft kiss on the skin of his neck, trying to sooth the trembling Original.

"What is happening to me?" Elijah whispered, taking a shaky breath, followed by another. He took another breath quickly, following it up with several more, shallow, quick breaths.

Elena squeezed her arms around him, before pulling back and walking around him so that she was facing him. He was taking in hurried breaths and Elena could see the panic in his eyes as he started to hyperventilate.

"What's happening?" He breathed, a hand coming up to his chest.

Elena gently tugged the hyperventilating Original out of the water and sat him down by the side of the river. She sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his head. He was gasping for breath and let his head fall against her chest.

"Shhh…You're okay, Elijah."

"I can't-I can't breathe." He murmured.

She shushed him again and ran her hand through his hair, beginning to gently rock him from side to side. "I know…" What could she say to him?

"You know, I used to take riding lessons when I was younger." She started.

"What?" He breathed, managing to laugh disbelievingly. "I can't breathe…and you're telling me about riding lessons?" He asked in disbelief.

"Shh, just hear me out." She said softly. "So, I was like…fourteen, and the woman who owned the yard, she was like…eighty mind, anyway, she used to hold these, test days. On these days, we would go in and learn certain aspects of riding before taking a test the next day."

Elena paused to see if he was listening, and smiled, satisfied, when she saw that he was. "So, there was this little kid, nine or ten, and he was _horrible_!" She said, smiling again when she heard his breathy laugh.

"And he was riding this Shetland, lovely, little pony, called Katie. The woman's daughter was with us and we were all sat around on our horses as her daughter spoke to one of the other riders. She had her back to this kid and he decided to slide off the saddle and sit on Katie's loins…you know what they are, don't you?"

Elijah nodded slowly. "Yeah, the loins are behind the ribs. The saddle is not supposed to sit on them because it puts pressure on the horses back."

"Nice." She appraised him. "Anyway, he decided that would be a great idea, but Katie didn't like that." His laughter had her chuckling softly as well. "So, Katie decided to buck, repeatedly, until that kid fell off her back and onto the floor."

Elijah laughed again and Elena ran her fingers through his hair again, smiling as he relaxed against her completely, gently winding his arms around her torso.

After a few long moments of silence, Elijah spoke quietly. "How did you know what to do?"

"You were having a panic attack." She replied, running her hands through his hair. "I used to get them a lot." She continued, sighing softly.

He pulled back and looked at her, a slight frown marring his brow. "I had no idea."

Elena shrugged, smiling slightly. "No one does, aside from Jeremy."

He smiled softly as she brought a hand up to cup his cheek. "Are you okay now?"

The smile fell from his face and he sighed, meeting her eyes. "I was going to hurt my _sister_, Elena. So, no, I'm not alright."

She could see the self-hatred in his eyes and let out a soft breath. "It's gonna be okay." She said, bringing up her other hand to the other side of his face. "_You_ are gonna be okay. We're going to figure out what this is, and we'll work it out. Okay?"

He still didn't seem convinced and Elena grabbed both of his hands firmly in hers. She laced their fingers together and looked into his eyes earnestly. _"Okay?"_

His lips curved into a soft smile at her refusal to let him ignore her and he nodded slightly, squeezing her hands. "Okay."

Elena smiled at him and dropped his hands, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder. He reached over and easily pulled her onto his lap, putting his arms around her waist as hers moved around his neck to accommodate her new position.

"You know that I would never do anything to hurt you?" Elijah murmured softly, resting his head on hers. "You do know that?" He asked again.

She took her head from his chest and looked at him in confusion. "Of course I do. You'd never hurt any of us."

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's taken me a while to get this chapter done. I had a bit of a hard time writing this for some reason :/**_

_**Thank you for all of your reviews last chapter! Y'all are awesome!**_

_**So, just so that it's easier for me to keep track, I've put a poll up for who you all want Caroline paired with – bear in mind that this is only if I get round to including the pairing at all, it might not come around.**_

_**Did anyone spot the Teen Wolf inspired line? Obviously changed to fit TVD.**_

_**I don't think this will be too much longer, just a few more chapters to wrap up my loose ends. On that note, please point out if I have left anything without a conclusion/reason behind it, aside from Elijah (and Elena) acting weird – their reasons tie together.**_

_**Please vote on my poll. And please, please, please review! Hugs from Elijah for anyone who does ;)**_

**A&amp;F**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Aria: I'm glad you like the chapter, and, I promise, we are getting there with what is happening to our favorite Original!**_

_**Siberia21: Aww, I'm glad you liked! You're welcome, and don't worry, I don't think anyone noticed it!**_

_**Bulldozed: Thanks, I'm glad you thought so. Elijah is slowly getting sorted! I would never leave my baby like this!**_

_**Sharbour: Thank you for sharing your opinion!**_

_**Rising Phoenix: I like your thinking… I don't particularly like the idea of Stefan/Caroline either, I see them as friends more than anything else, I only added them because they seem to be widely shipped at the moment.**_

**ooOoo**

_He still didn't seem convinced and Elena grabbed both of his hands firmly in hers. She laced their fingers together and looked into his eyes earnestly. "Okay?"_

_His lips curved into a soft smile at her refusal to let him ignore her and he nodded slightly, squeezing her hands. "Okay."_

_Elena smiled at him and dropped his hands, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder. He reached over and easily pulled her onto his lap, putting his arms around her waist as hers moved around his neck to accommodate her new position._

"_You know that I would never do anything to hurt you?" Elijah murmured softly, resting his head on hers. "You do know that?" He asked again._

_She took her head from his chest and looked at him in confusion. "Of course I do. You'd never hurt any of us."_

**ooOoo**

Elena and Elijah sat by the river's edge in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Elijah sighed and gently kissed the top of Elena's head. "We should probably go back. I'm sure they are wondering where we are."

"Yeah." Elena sighed, nestling into his arms. "But I wish we could just stay here forever."

Elijah chuckled and brushed her hair behind her ear when she looked up at him. "So do I. but we cannot hide from life."

Elena pouted. "It would be so much better if we could."

Elijah smiled at her and brushed his thumb over her lower lip, which was sticking out where she was still pouting. "It definitely would be, mia bella."

Elena smiled at him, loving the sound of the Italian rolling from his tongue. "Come on." He said, tapping her nose with his finger and standing up, laughing when she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

Elijah picked up their shoes as she swung around, onto his back. He carried her back to the house, smiling as she giggled and laughed in his ear.

**ooOoo**

"Hey, Eli. Are you alright now?" Rebekah asked hesitantly, carefully keeping her distance from her brother, but making sure she didn't look like she was.

Elijah nodded slowly, squeezing Elena's hand – as though he was making sure she was still there. She squeezed back encouragingly and he smiled at his sister. "Yes, forgive me sister, I did not mean to scare you."

Rebekah watched him skeptically for a second before she flung herself into his arms, making him drop Elena's hand.

"I'm just glad you're okay." She murmured into his shoulder, hugging him tightly. Elijah smiled, gently wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We still need to figure out what's happening to you." Kol said, causing the two siblings to break apart. Elijah nodded, retaking Elena's hand instantly to keep him grounded.

"I called one of your witches." Klaus said from where he was sat beside Caroline. "She should be here in a few hours."

Elijah and Elena both nodded and Elijah squeezed her hand for a second, making her turn and look at him.

"I'm going to go and take a shower before she gets here."

Elena nodded and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Of course."

He smiled back at her and kissed the top of her head. Elijah squeezed her hand once more before dropping her hand and leaving, taking the stairs two at a time.

Elena looked round at the others in the room and sighed. "Did they tell you what's been going on?"

Caroline and Jeremy nodded, but, before either of them could speak, Bonnie cut over them.

"Yeah, they told us alright. They told us that Elijah _kidnapped_ you and _tortured_ you until you turned off your emotions! They told us that he _drained you dry_!" Bonnie scoffed and shook her head. "I don't know how thought I could possibly try and get along with him!" She yelled before shouldering her way past Elena and storming out of the house; slamming the door behind her.

Elena winced at the loud slam and turned to Caroline and Jeremy. "Anything to add?"

"I think you're insane." Caroline said bluntly before looking over at Jeremy, who nodded in agreement. "And I think that, if Elijah can do all of that to you without his emotions and yet you're still in love with him, nothing we could say is gonna change that. So I don't see the point in trying."

Elena smiled at her friend and the blonde smiled back. Jeremy smiled as he watched the two of them and grinned at Elena when she looked over at him.

**ooOoo**

Bonnie was fuming as she slammed the door to Elijah's house and marched to her car. Caroline and Jeremy hadn't followed her out and she climbed into her car. _Screw them_, she thought, _if they're siding with him, then they can bloody well find their own way back._

She put the car into gear and sped out of the driveway.

**ooOoo**

The witch showed up and hour and a half later. Elijah was just heating up a glass of blood for himself and Elena was sat on the counter watching him silently.

"I'm hardly going to have a break down, Elena, you don't have to hover." He muttered, turning to face her and walking closer to her.

"Is there something wrong with wanting to make sure you're okay?" She murmured, smiling at him. He smiled at her and stepped between her legs, placing his palms on the counter either side of her as she wrapped her legs around him.

"No." He replied, running his fingertips up her spine. "It's sweet…just like you." He pecked her on the lips quickly before pulling back and smiling at her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and toyed with the shorter hairs at the back of his neck.

Elena tilted her face up and captured his lips with her own. Elijah smiled against her lips and gently kissed her back, ignoring the sound of the microwave oven signaling that his blood was warmed up.

They traded kisses for several minutes until the doorbell rang and Elena pulled away with a sigh. "That's probably the witch." She sighed.

Elijah nodded. "I would imagine so." He kissed her again before gently slipping out of her grasp and getting his glass from the microwave oven, grimacing when he realized it was only lukewarm.

He threw a playful glare in Elena's direction and she shrugged, grinning. "Sorry." She said, though she sounded anything but. "I'll make it up to you later?" She suggested, quirking an eyebrow.

He hummed, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her again. "That sounds reasonable."

"Only reasonable?" She raised her eyebrows and he smirked at her.

"Yes, reasonable. It would be wonderful if I didn't have to wait." He kissed her neck lightly, making her giggle.

"Cute as the two of you are, you're giving me a cavity. Could you _please_ keep that in your bedroom?" Klaus groaned.

Elena laughed and looked over at him as Elijah let his head fall forward onto her shoulder. "This is _Elijah's_ house, Klaus. I would say that gives us the right to do 'this' wherever we want."

Klaus frowned at her and Elijah stifled a laugh against the skin of her neck.

"I think I preferred it when you two were fighting." He quipped. Elena stuck her tongue out at him and he smirked at her.

"And I think I preferred it when you were hundreds of miles away." She retorted, smiling sweetly.

"Children, please." Elijah interrupted before Klaus could respond, taking his head from Elena's shoulder. "Niklaus, I presume you had a reason for coming in here…" He drawled, ever the peace keeper.

"The witch is here."

Elijah nodded. "We'll be through in a moment."

Klaus nodded and left as Elijah turned back to Elena. She kissed him and snatched hiss glass of blood before taking a sip and grimacing.

"I hate B positive."

Elijah smirked at her and took the glass from her hand; finishing it off. "Perhaps that will teach you not to take what isn't yours." He quipped, tapping her nose with his finger.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned before walking to the sink and washing his glass.

"You ready to find out what's going on?" She asked softly, taking in the way his demeanor had gone from relaxed and playful to tense and downtrodden.

"I just want this all to be over." He confessed quietly, putting the glass down and leaning against the counter.

Elena let out a soft breath and hopped off of the counter. She walked the few steps to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"I know." She murmured. "But it'll be over soon, and then we can get back to normal."

Elijah smiled and turned in her arms to face her. "Normal. Normal sounds good." Elena grinned at him and he kissed her quickly before taking her arms from around him and lacing their fingers together. "Come on. Let's figure out what's wrong with me."

**ooOoo**

Bonnie marched into the Salvatore boarding house, slamming the door behind her. She was greeted by Damon a moment later and he glared at her.

"What do you want, Judgy?"

She glared at him and folded her arms over her chest. "Is Stefan here? I need to talk to both of you."

Damon huffed, but waved Bonnie through to the lounge. "Stef," he yelled, "Judgy says she needs to talk to us!"

Stefan was in the lounge a moment later and he smiled at Bonnie. "Bonnie, what can we do for you?"

She pursed her lips and let out a low breath. "I need your help with Elena."

"What about Elena?" Damon asked instantly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Her new boyfriend," Bonnie started, "it's Elijah."

"Elijah?" Damon exclaimed incredulously. "Is she compelled?"

"Elijah wouldn't compel her." Stefan denied. "He's got that whole honorable deal making thing with her, remember?"

Damon scoffed before frowning. "That actually makes sense, if you think about it. He's probably agreed to keep Jeremy and the rest of us safe if she goes out with him." He deduced, but Bonnie shook her head.

"I think you were right the first time, she has to be compelled to be behaving like this. Apparently, Elijah's the reason she turned off her emotions in the first place. They said that he kidnapped her and tortured her until she switched it off." Bonnie said, leaving out the part where Elijah's emotions had been shut off as well.

Damon scoffed again and shook his head disbelievingly. "I told you all from the start that he was just like the rest of his family.

"Maybe he had a good reason?" Stefan offered weakly, not really wanting to believe that the Original would do something like that.

"Did he have a good reason for draining her too?" Bonnie retorted.

"He what?" Damon cried.

"He drained her?" Stefan asked, running a hand through his hair as he let out a low breath between his teeth.

"Yeah." Bonnie replied. "She has to be compelled, there's no way that _our_ Elena would stay with Elijah after all of that."

"I never thought I say this," Damon started, "but I agree with Judgy over here. There is no way that Elena could possibly be stupid enough to believe whatever bullshit story he's fed her to get her to forgive him."

Bonnie and Damon both looked around at Stefan. He let out a long breath and shook his head slightly. "Fine, I agree with you. Elijah's doing something to make her stay with him. The question is: what do we do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Bonnie said, after a moment where the brothers didn't say anything. "We have to kill Elijah."

**ooOoo**

Elijah sliced through his palm easily and curled his hand into a fist, letting his blood flow into the witch's glass bowl. His cut healed after a moment and he pulled his fist back.

Elena took his hand in hers and gently unfurled it before she began to softly wipe the blood away with a damp cloth. The witch watched them in silence for a moment before turning back to the bowl of blood and swirling it around as she began to mutter a spell under her breath.

Elijah's blood began to bubble and the vampires (plus Jeremy) exchanged glances.

After a few long moments, the witch stopped chanting, and Elijah's blood stopped bubbling. She scrawled a few words onto a scrap of paper and crumpled it up before dropping it into the bowl. The paper unfurled slowly and let out an ear-piercing screech that had everyone aside from Elijah, Elena and the witch clutching their heads and groaning in pain.

The ear bleeding squeal stopped after a few moments and everyone glared at the witch.

"Well?" Rebekah demanded, raising her eyebrows. "What's happening to Elijah?"

The witch looked over at Elijah and quirked an eyebrow at the way Elena was clutching his hand, and he clutching hers firmly for reassurance in return. "You are together?"

Elijah and Elena nodded at the same time, their brows furrowing in confusion. "Yes, we are." Elijah replied. "But I fail to see what that has to do with this."

The witch nodded and toyed with the charm around her neck (a pentagram inside a circle with five black stones on the circle). "Have the two of you shared blood?"

Elijah shook his head in the negative, his brow furrowing slightly. "No. I have drunk from Elena, but she has never had my blood."

The witch nodded, still running her pentagram charm from side to side on the chain. "What exactly happened when you attacked the people you did?"

Elijah shrugged. "I cannot remember fully."

"Well…" Kol started. "You went off on some tangent about how Elena had let you think she was dead for months and then you decided to take a chunk out of her neck."

The witch frowned. "Did anyone say anything to him beforehand?"

"I mentioned something about him dragging Elena into his whole emotionless escapade. But that's it."

The witch nodded at Rebekah. "What about the other times?"

"Elijah attacked Kol after he said that he had snapped Elena's neck, and he nearly lost it a few hours ago when Bekah hit Elena in the chest with a cushion."

"You almost lost it with me after I tried to kill myself." Elena volunteered, adding to Klaus' explanation and Elijah grimaced.

"You all say that he almost lost it, what stopped you?" The witch asked, turning back to Elijah with the question.

He shrugged again. "Elena. I believe." He looked at Elena for confirmation and she nodded.

"I think so. You stopped when you saw me crying, and then earlier I touched you and you stopped instantly."

They both looked back at the witch and she nodded. "I thought so." She muttered.

"So…you know what's going on?" Caroline asked, ignoring the fact that Elena had just admitted to trying to kill herself a moment before.

The witch nodded again. "It's their mating bond."

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: A bit of a shorter chapter, sorry! I just felt like this was a good place to end it!**_

_**So far, including reviewers votes **__and__** votes from the poll, Klaus and Kol are tied and I think it's pretty safe to say that Stefan is out of the running completely. If neither of them get more votes, then I will pair Care with whoever I want to explore the least and she will be paired with the other in my other story so that I have longer to explore the relationship between them.**_

_**Back to the story, what do you all think? They're going to try and kill Elijah… Mating bond? What is happening?!**___


	19. Chapter 19

_**Aria: I'm glad you think so and I hope this chapter lives up to expectations.**_

_**Rising Phoenix: Thanks for your vote :)**_

_**Bulldozed: Bonnie is definitely judgmental, I don't think she's really going to have any enlightenment as this story will soon be over :( You find out what Elijah has to do, but it doesn't exactly pay out as you would hope!**_

_**Siberia: Hope I do it some justice! Probably not, but you know Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy, there's no way that would have let the Mikaelsons get away with half-truths! I'm glad you enjoyed and I hope you enjoy this just as much!**_

**ooOoo**

"_Yeah." Bonnie replied. "She has to be compelled, there's no way that our Elena would stay with Elijah after all of that."_

"_I never thought I say this," Damon started, "but I agree with Judgy over here. There is no way that Elena could possibly be stupid enough to believe whatever bullshit story he's fed her to get her to forgive him."_

_Bonnie and Damon both looked around at Stefan. He let out a long breath and shook his head slightly. "Fine, I agree with you. Elijah's doing something to make her stay with him. The question is: what do we do about it?"_

"_Isn't it obvious?" Bonnie said, after a moment where the brothers didn't say anything. "We have to kill Elijah."_

**ooOoo**

"_You almost lost it with me after I tried to kill myself." Elena volunteered, adding to Klaus' explanation and Elijah grimaced._

"_You all say that he almost lost it, what stopped you?" The witch asked, turning back to Elijah with the question._

_He shrugged again. "Elena. I believe." He looked at Elena for confirmation and she nodded._

"_I think so. You stopped when you saw me crying, and then earlier I touched you and you stopped instantly."_

_They both looked back at the witch and she nodded. "I thought so." She muttered._

"_So…you know what's going on?" Caroline asked, ignoring the fact that Elena had just admitted to trying to kill herself a moment before._

_The witch nodded again. "It's their mating bond."_

**ooOoo**

"Mating what?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, uh, I agree with her. And that's something I never thought I'd say." Rebekah spoke up, a distasteful look on her face at having to agree with the baby vampire.

Elena and Elijah were sharing looks again and Kol tossed a cushion at Elijah. Elijah sighed after a second and looked around at his baby brother. "Yes, Kol?"

Kol narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Those…_looks_ get on my nerves. Either leave the room and talk properly, or don't talk at all." He snipped. Elena laughed softly and shook her head slightly.

Kol glared at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay! Can we get back to the…question at hand?" Jeremy groaned. "What do you mean by a mating bond?"

"It's a rare occurrence between supernaturals, mainly vampires and wolves. I believe many people liken it to soulmates." The witch explained.

"Soulmates?" Elena murmured quietly, feeling Elijah run his thumb over knuckles soothingly,

The witch nodded. "That is the simplest and quickest way to explain it, yes. A mating bond occurs between two people who are a perfect match for each other in _every_ way. They often have an instant connection the moment they meet; a connection so strong that they are drawn to their mate in a way they have never experienced before."

"That's all well and good, but that still doesn't explain why Elijah is attacking people." Klaus exclaimed.

The witch sighed. "When a mated couple doesn't fully share blood, when only one of the mates drinks the others blood, the mate who drank their partners blood becomes extremely protective of their mate. The tiniest things can set them off and, most of the time, only their mate can pull them back from their protective instincts. Both of the mates' emotions will also be in overdrive, so to speak."

"That's why you stopped whenever Elena said or did something to you." Kol said. Elijah nodded slowly.

"But I attacked Elena, if my instincts are to protect her, then why did I attack her?" He asked curiously, a frown marring his brow.

The witch sighed and toyed with her necklace again. "You said that she was without her humanity when you attacked her?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes, she did. So did I. What does that have to do with this?"

The witch took a breath and let it out in a low sigh. "There's a chance that, subconsciously, you were trying to protect her, by forcing her to turn on her humanity."

"By making her feel hurt or betrayed." Elijah finished.

The witch nodded again. "Either that, or, again subconsciously, you were trying to protect her by forcing your own humanity on, so that you could bring hers back."

Elijah nodded in understanding. "Okay. How do we stop my 'protective instincts'?" Elijah asked, distaste clear when he mentioned his 'instincts'.

"It's simple really, Elena has to drink your blood and complete the blood sharing process."

"That's it?" Klaus asked skeptically. "All she has to is drink his blood to get Elijah to quit freaking out?"

"That's all she has to do." She confirmed.

"What's the catch?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes at the witch.

"You're perceptive." The witch nodded slightly in respect. "When the bond is complete, it will be _complete_. The two of you will be able to communicate with each other in your thoughts, you will be able to feel what the other feels, and you will be able to hear what the other thinks. Your minds will be bonded completely. There will be no running from it. You will be bonded together _forever_."

Everyone in the room sucked in a harsh breath and Elijah's hand tightened around Elena's. "And there's no other way?" She asked.

The witch shook her head solemnly. "No, I am afraid not. There is no other way. It's either complete the bond, or Elijah stays like this."

**ooOoo**

"How are we going to kill Elijah?" Stefan asked. "We don't even have any white oak."

"So we find some." Damon replied. "Or we find another way, but no matter what, Elijah dies."

"Rebekah!" Caroline cried, a split second before Damon was thrown into the wall; the same fate met Bonnie when she began muttering under her breath. The enraged Original had Stefan pinned against the wall in a split second and hissed in his face.

"If you thought for one second that you would have a chance in hell at killing my brother, you're sorely mistaken, do you understand?"

Stefan glared at her, but nodded slowly. "I understand."

She released him and glared at him. "I assume you want to kill him because you think he's compelled Elena? Well he hasn't! He's her mate, so you would do well to leave him alone. Or, I assure you, Elena will never forgive you, and you will probably all wind up dead!" She warned before turning and marching from the house.

**ooOoo**

Elena sighed as she walked back into the bedroom that she shared with Elijah, closing the door to the en suite behind her. She froze when she turned and saw Elijah led on their bed, reading a book.

"There's no need to seem so stunned Elena, this is my room too." He said absently, not looking up from his book.

Elena bit her lip before she walked over to the drawers and pulled out a pair of panties. She pulled them on before going over to the closet and taking out one of Elijah's dress shirts. Elijah glanced up from his book as she dropped her towel and pulled on his shirt, he looked back down as she turned to face him.

She wandered over to their bed and led beside him. They lay in silence for a few moments as Elijah finished his page. He placed a bookmark in the page and closed his book before setting it on the bedside table.

Elijah rolled onto his side and faced Elena, but she continued staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking?" He asked quietly, after a moment. Elena sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"This is insane." She said quietly, not looking his way. "I mean you…you've lived for a thousand years, Elijah, but I-I'm only twenty. I don't know if I-f I'm ready for something like this. I love you, but I…"

"You don't know if you're ready to be bonded to me forever." Elijah finished softly, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes. "I don't wanna leave you like this…" She sobbed.

"Hey…" Elijah breathed, gently taking her hand and pulling her body into his side as he rolled onto his back. "Hey, it's okay." He said softly, rubbing her back soothingly. "I understand." He kissed the top of her head.

"How can you possibly understand?" Elena sobbed. "I'm basically telling you that I don't want to be your mate. How can you understand that?"

Elijah shushed her, gently rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head again. "It's okay, I understand because I just want you to be happy, Elena. If the only for you to have that happiness for now is for you to live your life away from me, then that's what I want for you." He stopped to take a deep breath, trying to stop himself from crying.

"No matter the cost."

Elena looked round at him and he smiled at her. "Now, get some sleep, sweetheart."

Her brow furrowed slightly and he nodded encouragingly. "Get some rest, lovely, you need it."

She looked at him skeptically for a moment before nodding slowly and burying her head in his chest.

Elijah let out a low breath as several tears slid down his cheeks.

**ooOoo**

When Elena woke up, she was alone in bed. She looked around for a moment, confused. But she brushed it off, Elijah was probably just downstairs.

She got dressed and jogged down the staircase. Rebekah and were in the kitchen, whisper arguing animatedly, but they fell quiet the moment Elena walked in. She frowned at the two of them before making her way over to the cupboard and taking out a mug.

"Have either of you seen Elijah?" Elena asked, it wasn't like Elijah to disappear without telling her, or leaving a note for her to see when she woke.

The two siblings shared uncomfortable glances before Kol spoke up. "I think he wanted to see you in Klaus' study."

"Klaus' study?" Elena repeated incredulously. "Why on earth would he want to see me in there?"

Kol shrugged. "Ask my brother when you see him."

Elena raised her eyebrows, but sighed and nodded slightly, pouring her coffee. "Okay then." She sighed again as she added sugar and cream to her coffee before turning back to Rebekah and Kol. "Did Caroline and Jeremy get back okay?"

Rebekah nodded slowly. "I dropped them off after you and Elijah went upstairs."

Elena nodded and smiled at Rebekah. "Thank you, Rebekah."

Rebekah smiled at her and Elena took a mouthful of her coffee. The three remained in an awkward silence for a few moments before taking another large gulp of her coffee and pouring the rest down the sink. She left the room and wandered towards Klaus' study.

When she got there, the door was closed and she couldn't hear anything from inside. Other than Klaus' unsteady breathing. _Unsteady?_

She knocked quietly and heard Klaus' breathing hitch before evening out and he opened the door a second later.

"Elena."

"Hey." She said. "Umm, Kol said something about Elijah being here…"

A split second of pain seemed to break through Klaus' stoic features before he smiled thinly. "You should come in." He said before stepping back and opening the door wider for her.

Elena frowned slightly, but stepped past him into his study. "Why are you all being so weird this morning?" She asked, turning back to face Klaus as he closed the door and leant against it, his back still to her.

He turned around after a moment and walked past her, opening another door in the corner of the room.

Elena gasped upon seeing an open coffin inside the room with Elijah led in it, a dagger protruding from his chest. She rushed to him and went to pull out the dagger, but Klaus grasped her wrist and shook his head.

"You daggered him? Why-why would you do that?" Elena cried, tugging against his grasp.

Klaus smiled sadly. "It's what he wanted."

Elena shook her head. "No, why would he want this? Why would he ask you to…?"

Klaus shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. "He wants you to have a chance at the life that you deserve; a chance at the life where you aren't bound to my brother." Elena shook her head vehemently at Klaus and he smiled sympathetically. "I may not agree with my brother's method, Elena, but I do believe that he wants the best for you."

"I can't…I-how am I supposed to be fine with this? How-how could he possibly think that I wouldn't want to wake him up?"

Klaus smiled sadly again and dropped her wrist, holding both sides of her head instead. "Because of the second part of our deal."

"What? I don't understand." Klaus let out a soft sigh and quirked his lips slightly, looking into her eyes. Elena frowned slightly before realization dawned over her. "No! No, Klaus, you can't! Please! You-you can't!"

"I'm sorry, Elena. But you're going to forget that Elijah was daggered. You're going to forget everything from Elijah kidnapping you. You will simply remember him as the man he was when you met him for the last time in Willoughby. The memories of the last few weeks will be nothing more than what you would have done if Elijah hadn't taken you." He compelled her. "And when you are truly ready to be bonded to my brother forever, you will remember everything."

Klaus gently brushed the hair away from Elena's face as he finished compelling her. "Now, you will sleep, for twelve hours, and when you wake up, you will vaguely remember getting drunk with Caroline."

Elena blinked once before she passed out in his arms. Klaus gently lowered her to the floor and laid her down, before standing again and turning to his brother's body.

"Jesus, Elijah." He groaned. "Why couldn't you have chosen a different way to do this?"

"_There has to be another way, Elijah!" Klaus exclaimed, dropping the dagger into the coffin. "I will not do this!"_

"_Why not?" Elijah demanded. "You have never had any qualms about daggering us before!"_

_Klaus narrowed his eyes at his brother. "So, you're telling me that you want me to dagger you and compel Elena to forget all about loving you so that she can go off and hook up with other guys until she's ready to be with you?"_

_Elijah sighed, but nodded. "If that is what makes her happy. Niklaus, she's twenty years old! She's had hardly any time on this earth; she deserves to have the time to live how she wants, without the burden of my loving her."_

"_You think that your love for her is a burden?" Klaus asked incredulously. "Elijah, we've all seen the way she looks at you. Elena is in love with you!" He exclaimed._

"_I know!" Elijah yelled, staring at his brother desperately before turning away and running a hand through his hair._

"_I know she does." He repeated, quieter. "But she isn't ready for this." Elijah murmured, turning back to his brother, his eyes shining with tears. "She isn't ready to be attached to me forever."_

"_And you think this is the solution? You think is what she wants?" Klaus questioned._

"_Maybe not this way." Elijah murmured softly, lifting the dagger from his coffin. "But she wants this chance, even if she won't admit it." He whispered. "Please, Niklaus. I am asking you to do this. I am asking you to dagger me, and to compel Elena, so that she gets the life she deserves, until she _is_ ready. I've already said goodbye to Rebekah and Kol." He said softly, turning to his brother and wrapping Klaus' hand around the hilt of the dagger._

_Klaus opened his mouth slightly before shutting it and shaking his head, fighting tears. "Elijah, I know you want the best for her, but this isn't the way."_

_Elijah nodded. "It is. She will not leave and enjoy her life unless she forgets me. I will be a danger to everyone, and I will not be happy until she is back. It may not be the nicest way for you, but it is for the best."_

_He turned Klaus' hand and positioned the point of the dagger over his heart._

"_Tell her to remember me from when we last met in Willoughby and to forget everything else." Klaus sighed and Elijah placed his hand on his shoulder. "Promise me, Niklaus."_

_Klaus placed his free hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled slightly. "I promise you, brother." He swore before pushing the dagger into Elijah's chest._

_Elijah gasped softly and fell forward as the dagger began to take effect. Klaus caught his brother and fell to his knees, cradling his brother against him._

"_She'll be safe, Elijah. I'll miss you." He murmured softly as a tear ran down his cheek._

Klaus let out a sigh and closed the lid of his brother's coffin.

"She's been compelled?"

Klaus nodded at the sound of Caroline's voice and took a second before turning to face her. "Yes. When she wakes she will believe that you and she got drunk last night."

Caroline nodded slowly. "I should probably take her home then." Klaus smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah. I'll help you take her out to the car." He said as he bent and gently lifted the slumbering vampire's body.

Caroline smiled at him. "Thanks. I know none of this can have been easy on you, to say the least." She murmured softly, holding the door open so that he could slip past with Elena.

"To be fair, love, my family has never been easy on me." Caroline smiled slightly and shut the door to his study before leading him down the hall and out to her car.

"Look after her, love." Klaus said as he gently closed the door to Caroline's car. "I would hate for Elijah to wake only to find that she's hurt or gone."

"Of course I'll look after her. She's my family." Caroline replied, giving Klaus a brief hug before getting into her car and driving away.

**ooOoo**

**A/N: Umm, whoa… pretty much this entire chapter wrote itself. Sorry about the short Stefan, Damon and Bonnie marching off to kill Elijah solution. I just had to find some way to wrap that up.**

**Next chapter will be and epilogue and the final chapter of this story!**

**I don't know where this came from, honestly. Probably because I was still awake at half eleven after pulling an all-nighter the night before :/ Oops. What do you think though?**

**Please review my lovelies!**

**A&amp;F**


	20. Epilogue

_**Aria: Sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!**_

_**Kay: Is a year too long? Sorry it took me so long to update :(**_

_**Phoenix: Sorry it took me so long :/**_

_**Bulldozed: Glad you loved it!**_

_**Siberia: It makes me so happy that you liked it so much! I hope you like this chapter as well.**_

**ooOoo**

"_I'm sorry, Elena. But you're going to forget that Elijah was daggered. You're going to forget everything from Elijah kidnapping you. You will simply remember him as the man he was when you met him for the last time in Willoughby. The memories of the last few weeks will be nothing more than what you would have done if Elijah hadn't taken you." He compelled her. "And when you are truly ready to be bonded to my brother forever, you will remember everything."_

**ooOoo**

_Caroline smiled at him. "Thanks. I know none of this can have been easy on you, to say the least." She murmured softly, holding the door open so that he could slip past with Elena._

"_To be fair, love, my family has never been easy on me." Caroline smiled slightly and shut the door to his study before leading him down the hall and out to her car._

"_Look after her, love." Klaus said as he gently closed the door to Caroline's car. "I would hate for Elijah to wake only to find that she's hurt or gone."_

"_Of course I'll look after her. She's my family." Caroline replied, giving Klaus a brief hug before getting into her car and driving away._

**ooOoo**

_~ One Year, Five Months, and Seventeen days later… ~_

"Elena!" Killian yelled, jogging out of the apartment after her. "I'm sorry! Hey…" He breathed, grabbing her wrist. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Elena sighed and turned to face her boyfriend. "Look, Killian, you're a really good guy…but I'm not blind. You don't love me, not really, you're still in love with Emma."

His gaze turned pained and she smiled sadly, grasping his hands and threading their fingers together.

"I don't want-"

"I know." Elena cut over him. "I know you don't want to hurt me, which is why _I'm_ breaking up with _you_." She said softly.

"What?" He breathed, frowning at her.

"I love you, Killian, but I'm not in love with you. And I don't think you're in love with me either." She smiled sadly and squeezed his hands. "I've never really been here, Killian. I've always felt like there's something missing, and you deserve someone who can be with you completely. That person isn't me."

Killian smiled slightly and squeezed her hands. "I'm sorry." He breathed, making her smile and laugh slightly.

"It's not your fault: you fell in love…just not with me." Elena smiled at him.

"Friends?" Killian asked hopefully.

Elena smiled at him and nodded. "Of course."

He released her hands and kissed her forehead lightly. "Can you get home okay?" He worried.

Elena nodded, taking her phone from her pocket. "I'll call Caroline for a ride."

"Are you sure?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's kinda late; I have a couch." He offered, making her smile.

"I'm sure. Caroline won't mind." She kissed his cheek before turning and walking away.

"Elena." Killian called from behind her. She turned and raised an eyebrow. "I hope you find what you're looking for." He said, smiling at her before turning and going back into the apartment.

Elena smiled at his back for a moment before she turned away, looking down at her phone and dialing Caroline's number. Her finger hovered over the call button for a moment before she changed her mind and locked her phone, deciding to walk home instead – she needed to clear her head.

**ooOoo**

"I'm sure she'll remember soon, love." Klaus said, settling back on the couch in the apartment she shared with Elena.

"When? It's been over a year, Klaus! And you say that _every time_ I see you!"

Klaus sighed and shook his head slightly. "I know. But I don't know what else to say."

"Here's an idea: how about you just undo the compulsion?"

"I can't." Klaus sighed. "For one, she's on vervain again, and, two, Elijah made me give him my word that I wouldn't undo the compulsion. He doesn't want her to know until she's ready." The hybrid explained.

"Right, 'cause I'm sure your word means so much to you." Caroline scoffed, pacing the room.

Klaus shot up from the couch and glared at the blonde. "My family may not have the best morals, but we _never_ go back on our word. Any of us!" He said firmly, still glaring down at the young blonde.

"Okay…" Caroline whispered, slightly stunned at him losing his temper with her.

"Look," he began, "I get that you're upset, and that you only want what's best for your friend, but having a go at me isn't going to solve anything." He said softly, regretting yelling at the bubbly blonde.

"I know." Caroline breathed. "I just want her to be happy again." She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Klaus placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders and gently tugged her to him, wrapping his arms around her slender frame. "Believe me, I know. I want my brother back just as much as you want Elena happy."

"This just sucks! Like, really, majorly sucks!" Klaus chuckled slightly at Caroline's statement and rubbed her back softly.

They stood like that for a few moments before Caroline's phone rang and she pulled away with a sigh, taking her phone from her back pocket.

"Hello?"

"Caroline…" Elena sobbed.

"Elena?" Caroline asked, a hint of urgency in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"C-can you come and pick me up?"

"Where are you?" Caroline asked as Klaus grabbed his keys.

Elena sobbed out a road name and Caroline promised that they were on their way and hung up the phone. She exchanged a glance with Klaus before they headed out of the apartment to his car.

**ooOoo**

They found Elena sat on the side of the road, her head buried in her knees and her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. A fire was burning about a dozen feet away on the grass and the smell of burning flesh assaulted their noses when they stepped out of the car. The two exchanged glances before walking over to the sobbing doppelgänger.

"Elena?" Caroline asked softly, crouching beside her friend. "What happened?"

"They were gonna kill me." She cried. "So I-I killed them. But I remember…I remember everything." Elena dissolved into sobs and Caroline sat beside her, gently the puling the brunette into a hug. Caroline looked at Klaus over Elena's head and he quirked his lips slightly before nodding towards the burning bodies – signaling that he was going to make sure that they would burn fully. Caroline nodded slightly and watched him walk away before burying her face in Elena's hair.

Klaus came back several minutes later and stood by the girls for a moment before clearing his throat slightly. They both looked around and he nodded towards the car.

"We should get going."

Elena nodded before Caroline could say anything and wiped at her cheeks. "Where is he?"

"His house." Klaus replied, just as softly.

Elena nodded, standing up. "Take me there." She ordered, though there wasn't much force behind it. Elena waited for Klaus' nod before going to his car and climbing in the back.

The hybrid offered a hand to Caroline and helped her up. She raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged slightly, opening the passenger side door for her and waiting for her to get in before shutting it and going around to the driver's side.

**ooOoo**

"Can you guys...?" Elena trailed off as she stared at the oak coffin.

"Sure." Caroline cut in before Klaus could say anything and she narrowed her eyes at him. He glared back at her and she grabbed his arm, towing him out of the room and closing the door behind them.

Elena stared at the coffin for a few moments before she took a shaky breath and opened the lid.

If Elijah's skin wasn't greyed and riddled with veins, and if there hadn't been a dagger sticking from his chest, he would have looked like he was sleeping. She gripped the hilt of the dagger and pulled it free, sucking in a sharp breath at the same time.

Stumbling back, her back hit the wall and she slid down it to sit on the floor. She rested her elbows on her knees and her head between them, the dagger held loosely in her hand.

Elena wasn't sure how long she sat there before she heard Elijah's bones crack as his body healed itself. A gasp tore from his throat, but Elena didn't move. She kept her head between his knees as she heard him awkwardly climb from the casket.

"Elena?"

She finally looked up at the sound of him rasping her name and saw that he was stood beside his coffin, one hand on the edge for support. Using the wall to help herself stand, she shakily stood up and unsteadily walked over to him.

The palm of her hand connected with the side of his face and his head snapped to the side. Elijah nodded slowly, bringing his free hand up to massage his jaw.

"I deserve that…" He muttered quietly, looking down at the floor.

"Yeah, you really do." She nodded, fighting back tears. "I hate you." She sobbed, wrapping her arms around his waist and clinging to him.

Elijah wound his arms around her and held on firmly. "I know."

"No, no… I _really_, _seriously_ hate you." She sobbed, unable to do anything more than hit him lightly on the back.

"How long has it been?" He asked softly after a few long moments.

"A little under a year and a half." She sniffled, just as quietly, burying her head in his shoulder. Elijah nodded slowly, rubbing slow circles on Elena's back.

"I need blood." He stated, although it was said almost hesitantly, like he didn't want to give her a reason to move away.

"Yeah." Elena sighed, staying in his arms for a few moments longer before she slowly pulled away, keeping hold of his hand to help keep him steady.

Elijah leant some of his weight onto Elena as she helped him from his little brother's study. He wasn't really sure how Niklaus had wound up with his own study in Elijah's house, but he'd never bothered to question it.

Elena did and Elijah shrugged slightly. "I'm not completely sure. Niklaus just took it over one day." He chuckled softly and Elena laughed along with him.

"That sounds like Klaus." She laughed.

"What sounds like me?" Klaus asked, handing Elijah a glass of blood, the older brother nodding his thanks as he took it.

"Elijah was just mentioning that you kind of just took over the study." Elena explained; Klaus shrugged.

"He wasn't using it."

Elena and Caroline scoffed and laughed, while Elijah simply shook his head in amusement, finishing off the glass of blood in his hand.

"Sooo…" Caroline said. "What's gonna happen with you two now?"

Elijah and Elena glanced at each other before Elena shrugged slightly. "We complete the bond."

**ooOoo**

"So, uh…how do we…?" Elena trailed off awkwardly, rubbing her palms over her pants. Elijah gently settled his hands over hers, stopping her nervous movements.

"However you want to, lovely." He murmured softly, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles before taking her hands in his. "I just want for you to be comfortable with this."

Elena scoffed and shook her head. "I'm about to drink your blood, and you want _me_ to be comfortable?" Elijah smiled at her and brought one of his hands up to stroke the side of her face lightly.

"All I want is for you to be comfortable and happy, Elena."

She smiled at him and leant forward, connecting their lips gently. Elijah moved the hand that was still holding hers to the other side of her face as he tenderly kissed her back. Elena lightly ran her hands up his chest and around his shoulders, toying with the short hairs at the back of his neck.

Elijah shifted back on the bed slightly so that he wasn't perched on the edge anymore and Elena slowly swung a leg over both of his, kissing him more intensely as he tangled one of his hands in her hair.

After a moment, Elena trailed her lips away from his and down his jawline to his neck. Elijah bared his neck for her and encouraged her to bite him with a gentle pressure on the back of her head.

"Bite me, Elena, it's yours to take." He urged. Her fangs scraped the skin of his neck a second before they sunk into his throat.

Elijah let out a soft gasp at the foreign sensation and his hand tightened in her hair. "Elena…" He moaned, his eyes rolling back into his head as he felt the blood being drawn from his body.

She moaned against the skin of his neck and curled her arms around his body. His blood was like nothing she had ever tasted. Was it the mating bond? Just making her think that he tasted better? Or was it just him? Because he was an Original?

She didn't know, but, at that moment, she didn't particularly care, she was too focused on his blood and the sensations it was causing in both of them as she drank.

After several more, large, gulps of his blood, Elena pulled her fangs from Elijah's neck and crashed her bloodstained lips onto his. The couple moaned in unison as Elijah's blood washed into their mouths. Elena pushed him back to lie on the bed and crawled over him.

She slipped her hands under his shirt and ran them over the smooth planes of his chest for a few minutes before withdrawing them and beginning to unbutton the dress shirt. Elijah flipped them over and pinned her hands above her head, trailing his lips down to her ear.

"I thought that you wanted to wait." He panted, but, still, he kissed and suckled at the skin of her throat and nipped her earlobe.

"I thought I did." She moaned. "But I don't, I don't…" Elena wrapped her legs around his waist and turned her head to kiss his neck. "Eli…" She whined. "Please…"

Her plea undid him, and he stopped trying to be the noble one for once. He crushed his lips onto hers and moved his hands from her wrists to thread his fingers with hers.

Elijah slowly rolled onto his back, pulling Elena onto him. She sat over his waist and softened their kiss as she gently pulled him up to a sitting position. Her nimble fingers undid the buttons of his dress shirt and he took his hands from her body to allow her to push the fabric from his body.

He slid his hands under her shirt and slowly raised it, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside.

Elena rolled away, pulling Elijah on top of her…

**ooOoo**

"You never told me why you remembered." Elijah mused, running his fingers through Elena's hair.

"You never asked." She retorted playfully, continuing to draw small patterns over his bare chest. Elijah chuckled softly and Elena felt the vibrations as they travelled through his chest. "I was attacked." She murmured quietly after a moment.

Elijah stiffened under her and she kissed his chest softly. "I'm okay though, I nearly wasn't, but I am." He slowly relaxed and his hand resumed stroking through her hair. "But, I don't really know, I-I killed them and something just…kinda…clicked… My memories all just slipped back into place."

"Well, if I'd known that all I had to do was threaten your life, then I would have surpassed the coffin and dagger." He drawled.

Elena scoffed and slapped his chest. Elijah grinned to himself and chuckled again.

"You're an ass." Elena muttered.

"Hmmm, but you love me anyway." Elijah said softly, confidently, but not really.

"Yeah." She replied, leaning around to look at him. "I do. I'm not really sure why though…"

"Oh? Is that so?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at her as she sat up and faced him, holding the sheet to her chest. She nodded.

"Yeah. No redeeming qualities _whatsoever_." Elijah rolled her over and hovered over her.

"No redeeming qualities?" He asked, suckling at her neck.

"Hmm, maybe just the one." She drawled.

Elijah smirked at her as he pulled back and he kissed her lightly.

**ooOoo**

_**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long, I'm not sure about this ending but I don't know what else to add…so here it is!**_

_**Tell me what you think lovelies! I'm gonna miss writing this :'(**_

_**A&amp;F**_


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